The River Runs Through It
by PikaSass
Summary: The sequel to Second Time Around! Ash and Misty have a beautiful daughter, life is finally falling into place, when an unexpected event brings everything crashing back down. 15th of May 2005 updated again!
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokémon. I am SO sick of writing that, lol.

A/N: And ladies and gents, just one day after the completion of "Second Time Around" we have a sequel! Things to note - although this is under my name, it's being written by both myself and Geodude. Also it's being written along the way, so the updates won't be half as quick as they were with STA. I finished that whole fic before I started uploading it and this one has barely started. We'll alternate chapters and anyways, I think that's enough rambling for one day. Short prologue but that's to be expected!

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Prologue 

My life has certainly been transformed a great deal over the last thirteen months. And those of you who know my story will be aware of the trials, tribulations, and at times just unbearable circumstances I had to endure. 

However as I have stated on numerous of occasions, I don't regret what happened. For what started as a simple walk along the beach that night at Washbay accumulated and manifested into the most magical night of my life. A night in which my heart overtook my head, and thus as a result has given me the most precious gift of all in this life, my daughter. 

The consequences of this night I am still reeking the benefits of. A mother that has more or less disowned me, three sisters who are, well let's just say not on speaking terms with me as they seem to be more concerned with their public image than that of their niece. All of this I can stand, for my love for Ash and my daughter see me through. However what I can't stand is the glances we receive when we are out together, as if our ages have clouded society's judgment of us as kind loving people who aspire to raise our daughter to be all she can be. I guess my overall situation can be summed up like this; I pay the price daily for loving Ash, but I don't care. 

And after such chain of events that have engulfed my life over the last year, you would think my circumstances could not get much worse in terms of the negative factors, right? Well unfortunately both you and myself were wrong on that one. Tragically wrong. 

For they say in life that things can only get better, that there is a rainbow just over every horizon, that soon enough the seemingly endless abyss you are in will come to an end, and you will hit the bottom. For my life can be compared to one of those at this time, with my only harness of support slumping deeper into this pit of despair being my family. 

But there is a reason why tears are ravaging my cheeks at this time as they have done so for the past month. There is a reason why my lover sits and holds me close and tries to whisper reassuring words of comfort in my ear. There is a reason I hold my four-month-old daughter Andrea close to my chest as if I was scared I was going to lose her. There is a reason why I wake up screaming from the nightmares and Ash has to soothe me the way only he can. And there is a reason why the so-called second time around was only the beginning of my torment and heartache. 

And so it begins…… 

A/N: Indeed it begins, and I've done a few pages of the next chapter. I'll get that up as soon as poss, but in the meantime reviews are nice, even if we are only just getting the ball rolling, and big thanks for reading! More soon!


	2. A Prelude to Pain

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokémon. That's about all I can be bothered with tonight.

A/N: Wow, that disclaimer was rude, I'm sorry! Anyways, the prologue was by Geodude and this one is by me, and it's kinda long. Got carried away, cringe…well here it is, read on everyone!

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Chapter One - A Prelude To Pain

I woke up one autumn morning with Ash still sleeping contently next to me and peace surrounding every inch of my being. Andrea was still asleep, the phone wasn't ringing, no one had knocked on the door. It was bliss, and, grateful for the sleep in, I closed my eyes to resume some sort of half-slumber.

But I suddenly shot up as a thought ran through my mind. Andrea should've been up by now, so what if…_what if something's happened to her? _My throat clamped up at the thought, my mind raced with the possibilities of cot death and suffocation and before I knew what was happening I had sprinted down the hall to her room. 

"Oh God, please let her be alright" I muttered before I threw open the door. My fears dissolved as I heard her light snores and I involuntarily let out a breath of relief. If something ever happened to her, I would never forgive myself. I lightly stroked a finger across her cheek with a smile adorning my face.

"Mist?" I turned my head at the sound of Ash's voice behind me. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily.

"Nothing, I just thought…" I trailed off and eyed him sheepishly. 

"You thought something had happened to her?" Ash raised an eyebrow. I silently nodded and watched him sigh with a small smile on his face. "So how many times has that been now? I think I've lost count."

I confess, I worried about Andrea a lot. Sometimes maybe too much. The first week she was with us I continually stood over her crib while she slept to make sure she was still breathing. I would lie awake in bed and strain to listen to her exhale and inhale. Sometimes her cries in the middle of the night were reassuring as much as they were disrupting. Ash found it somewhat amusing but I knew that he couldn't help feeling the same way. This was our daughter and we had struggled for the sake of her. To lose her in any way at all would be a pain too big to bear. 

"But she's so small and vulnerable, she could easily just…" That was a sentence I couldn't finish. Ash immediately drew closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, an action that almost instantly washed away my reservations.

"Yes, but she's got two parents who love her and look after her in the best way they can. She's healthy and happy and for that we should be eternally grateful" Ash said seriously. He kissed me briefly but assuredly and twirled a stray strand of my hair around his finger. "Fate couldn't be so cruel as to make things worse than they already have been. Just relax."

So I believed him. I smiled and assured him I was fine and let him hold me close just because I loved the feeling of him near me. He was right - how could fate possibly be crueler after all we had been through? It had to be almost scientifically impossible. 

We were both sixteen years old but we had been through more than some people do in a lifetime. It wasn't exactly something we were proud of but at the same time we were proud at how our lives had turned out, at how we had managed to pick ourselves up after every downfall to come out with a daughter we loved and a life we couldn't imagine not living. 

I always said I would show my mother and I did, even if I never spoke to her after Andrea was born. I recall her saying something about Ash leaving me the minute he felt pressure. Well the pressure was most definitely on us the moment we found out I was pregnant and Ash hasn't left my side since. I guess I'm excluding some of the spats we went through but come on, surely they had to be expected. A baby at sixteen is no picnic.

At this particular point in my life, with Andrea aged just a couple of months old, I thought I was going slightly mad. Not as in I should be in an asylum due to the public's safety, but there was definitely an air about me that wasn't there a year ago. I sung songs from the Teletubbies instead of tunes on the radio. I spoke in a high-pitched squeal that would cause any bystanders to wince as their eardrums took a hold of the pain.

But I loved it. I truly loved it because it was the result of Andrea. 

She stirred as I was locked in Ash's embrace and I had to find the motivation to move away and comfort her before the real cries started up. She could be a wailer when she wanted to be.

"Good morning sunshine" I greeted her chirpily. I'd had a good night's sleep which was rare but never taken for granted. Usually this time of the morning I'd be half-asleep, complaining about what little energy Andrea drained from me. Good old optimistic Ash would tell me that things could be worse, that I could be living in Cerulean City with my mother and sisters and not have any contact with Andrea at all. I'd smile at his words and go through the rest of the day on fatigue and the hope of rest at the end of the day.

But this morning I was surprisingly awake and happy. Not that I wasn't generally happy living with Ash and Andrea, I loved them both so much, but my temper tended to hit breaking point when lack of sleep came into the picture. Whenever this happened, Ash would demand that I take a nap straight away, no matter what time of the day it was or how many things I had to do, and he would take over by himself. It worked wonders and I was a much nicer person to be around afterwards. 

Andrea locked her sleepy eyes with mine and yawned, almost asking with her eyes why she had been disrupted from her slumber. I gave her the involuntary smile she almost always caused to spring to my face and kissed her forehead to be replied with a blank stare. She still hadn't smiled but I'd been told that took a couple of months. Just another milestone for us to look forward to, like when she would take her first step or say her first word.

I then handed her over to Ash after mumbling something about getting dressed. I was freezing in my robe and longed for the warmth of a shower, and Ash had no protests about having Andrea to himself for half an hour or so. I left him cooing her promises of warm clothes and gratefully headed for the shower.

Oh for hot water. It didn't come cheap but like they say, you get what you pay for and this morning I had absolutely no qualms about the bills that came in every month demanding our thinning money in exchange for warmth or electricity. It had to be worth it on a day like today.

We didn't have _that_ many problems with money. That account Ash had still earned interest while it was sitting in the bank and he was going to get a job. He swore he was. It wasn't like it was a big deal, the account had a very stable amount and no major expenses had hit us yet. In fact, it was a relief to have him at home. I don't think I could've coped with Andrea by myself. Sometimes love isn't enough to keep my temper, even my sanity, in check.

The water drifted over me and I sighed in relief. I gradually began to thaw out, stretching my arms, returning elasticity back to my limbs. Now I was properly awake. I stepped out of the heavenly shower, grabbed a towel and proceeded to stare back at the face that greeted me in the mirror. 

The girl who gazed at me wasn't a girl. She was a woman. One who had grown up too fast and too suddenly to truly understand what that term meant. Her eyes bore a wisdom beyond her years and her face showed a maturity that most people her age lacked. 

Was that…me?

I had this debate with myself nearly every morning. It's not like I could look back on old photos and see a remarkable difference, but I could transport myself back a year or two and know that I was a different person to the one ogling eyes with me in the mirror. I was a _mother_. The familiar thought hit me so quickly I shuddered, as I still wasn't used to the term. And my mother was a grandmother, my sisters were aunties, my father was a grandfather (and the only one out of them with any right to call himself related to Andrea, or me for that matter).

I wrapped the towel tighter around myself and made my way down to our room. So many layers of clothing needed for such a chilly day, I struggled to find something warm enough. It was only autumn, how did I expect to cope with winter? Christmas would probably see me through - Andrea's first Christmas.

Dressed and with the sun starting to melt the frost into dew, I walked into the lounge to find Ash holding a now clothed Andrea in his arms, whispering words into her ears that only she would ever hear. He noticed me standing in the middle of the room and directed a smile to my ever-watchful eyes.

"She's so quiet this morning" he pointed out as I walked over to them. "And don't go getting ideas about how that's not normal" he said quickly when I opened my mouth to speak. "She might just be tired."

"Yeah, and she might have a cold or something too" I sighed. "It is cold, and she has been a bit quiet lately, maybe I should run her to the doctor, just for -"

"Misty" Ash interrupted me sternly. I gazed into his eyes for what must've been multiple seconds, transforming into minutes until he broke the silence. "You can't run her to a doctor until she gets a fever. She feels fine now. You need to stop worrying, for her sake and your own."

I smiled sheepishly at the only guy I'd ever loved and ever would love. He cared about Andrea, don't get me wrong, but he knew the difference between being tired and being sick. Unlike paranoid little me. He smiled back at me in understanding and handed her to me so she could have her morning feed. She was all for routine - wake, dress, feed, play…over and over throughout the day. 

"So what's on today's agenda?" I asked casually. Usually we'd go for a walk or Delia would just happen to be walking by and drop in, which we both saw as a watery excuse to check up on her granddaughter. We loved her visits though. She had been the most supportive person anyone could be in the darkest of our times - I think letting me into her home aged fifteen and pregnant saw to that. Plus Andrea's middle name was in her honour, which just went to show how much the both of us adored her.

"Well I didn't really have anything in mind, unless you did" Ash replied. It always went like this. We worked by each other's schedules, not that either one of us had particularly demanding ones. 

"I dunno. I'd love to go for a walk but it's freezing out there."

"It'll be warm soon enough. A walk with you, my dear, is a pleasure whatever the weather" Ash grinned. Delight almost instantly flowed throughout me at his words. I loved him so much that the smallest of compliments from him sent my heart into a frenzy of ardour, flattered by such words, no matter how often I heard them.

Everything was still quiet around us. The neighbors were minding their own business for once, not knocking on the door to make sure it really was true, that we really were this young with a child. You'd think one utterance of confirmation would be enough, but no, the Jamesons' in the apartment beside us had this fascination with us. A knock on the door was customary for them at least twice a week, nervously offering help or recommending great babysitters. They were smiled at, nodded at, and then promptly ignored as soon as the door closed. 

"Mist? What's on your mind?" Ash asked quietly, stroking my cheek and looking down at Andrea with that special look he reserved only for her.

"You always know when something's on my mind" I sighed. "I was just wondering…why does anyone give a damn about what we do or who we are? You're not the master anymore, I'm not part of the Cerulean gym and yet we still get hassled."

"You thinking of the Jamesons'?" Ash asked, meeting my eyes with concern scrawled all over them.

"Who else" I groaned. "If it's not the media it's my mother, if it's not my mother it's the neighbors, who next? And why, _why_ do they care?" I hated crying, I truly did, but there were days when I just couldn't control my emotions, such as today. I had woken up so happy, so optimistic and bright, and one mere thought had sent my emotions into a whirlwind. A single tear unwillingly traveled down my cheek and Ash gently wiped it away.

"Because they've got no lives" Ash replied simply.

"They should have. They should mind their own damn business." I don't know why Ash put up with this. I constantly complained about one thing or another and yet he was so patient with me. This day was no exception, as he laid an arm around my shoulders and held me close, Andrea still nuzzled against my breast.

"How about we get Mom to look after Andie today and we just do something together. You and me. You need to stop worrying about so many things when everything has finally settled down" he pointed out.

"I can't ask that of Delia" I said quietly.

"Are you kidding? You know she loves it. She relives her motherhood through Andie. We'll catch a movie or go out for lunch or something. I just want to make you happy."

I think right then and there I melted on the spot with love for him. He wanted to make me happy? Didn't he see how happy he made me every day? He wasn't the subject of my worries and frustrations, it was the outside world, a world that had betrayed me so many times before, that I feared and fretted over. And yet here he was, almost blaming himself for the constant downer in my mood.

"Ash, you already make me happy every day. You sitting here next to me makes me happy beyond words. Me and my moods has nothing to do with you so you don't have to try and rectify them" I told him. I planted a kiss on his lips to prove it and watched him nodding as I pulled away.

"I'm still calling Mom" he announced, suddenly jumping up and sprinting for the phone. He knew I couldn't follow to stop him and I sat on the couch, helpless with Andrea in my arms.

Ash returned no more than five minutes later with a broad grin occupying his face. "Mom'll be over in half an hour. I better get ready."

"I can't believe you" I sighed with an uncontrollable smile forming on my lips. "Fine, go." I waved him away with my spare hand and watched him retreat to our room. "As you for" I said, reverting my attention back to Andrea, "you have to promise me you'll be a good girl for Grandma. Okay?"

Tears suddenly filled my eyes as she sleepily looked at me like she understood my words. Of course I trusted Delia and knew she would be a great babysitter. But a day without my precious Andie D…could I bear it?

Ash re-emerged about two seconds before Delia knocked on the door and let herself in, as we had told her to do ages ago. By this time I was slowly walked around the lounge with a very sleepy Andrea Ketchum in my arms. Her morning nap happened right on time, and her head hadn't even touched the mattress of her crib before her eyes were closed and she was off in a dreamland reserved especially for her.

"Now Mom, when she wakes up give her one bottle. She usually doesn't like bottles but persist and she'll take it. Then change her and give her some play time. She likes to lie on the mat and watch that mobile" Ash instructed. Delia intently listened with a warm smile at her son. He definitely knew his stuff.

"Don't you worry about a thing, just enjoy yourselves, enjoy the break" Delia said. I was planning on enjoying it, even if it was fringed with worry about leaving Andrea for the first time. Ash and I hadn't been out by ourselves since she'd been born and he had been the first to recognise that we needed to be alone and out of the apartment.

"Thank you, Delia" I said gratefully, hovering by the door.

"Don't mention it. Now go!" she teasingly ordered. I smiled and followed Ash out.

There was a breeze that ran fingers of ice over our faces and through our hair but there was also a brilliant sunshine that deceived this aspect in the weather. I don't think either of us had any real idea where we were walking to, nor did we care, just as long as we were together. His fingers were entwined with mine and my head rested against his shoulder as we slowly meandered along. For once we didn't get stares, we didn't feel uncomfortable being with a crowd because today we fitted in.

Not that I would have that in exchange for Andrea. No way.

"Where exactly are we going?" I finally asked after twenty aimless minutes of walking.

"Um…" Ash trailed off and I laughed. Neither of us could come up with an answer.

"Well it's nowhere near time for lunch, so you wanna catch a movie or something?" I asked casually. I hadn't seen a movie in so long. I didn't care what was on, just as long as there was _something_ I could sit through for a couple of hours without demands or obligations. Still, it was sadly strange to be walking along without pushing a pram and rearranging toys to make Andrea happy. She didn't have to smile to tell me she was happy, I just knew.

"Yeah that sounds good" Ash agreed. To most people this wouldn't have been a big event, but for the two of us, stuck in an apartment all day with a young child and responsibilities we shouldn't have had, this was such a privilege. I now had something else to thank Delia for on top of the thousands of other things.

I don't even remember the name of the movie or who was in it or the basic plot even. I just remember laughing my way through fictional characters on a massive screen in front of me, delving into an unreal world for two hours and leaving the theatre in total gratitude to Ash. I wrapped my arms around his waist which probably made it difficult for him to walk but I just wanted him to know how much I appreciated this.

"Thank you" I said softly.

"It was only a movie" Ash said, kissing the top of my head.

"No, it was more than that. It was…it was…"

"An escape?" Ash supplied. I nodded. Exactly the words I was looking for. "I know what you mean. It seems strange to not be around Andie but at the same time it's a good break. We should probably do this more often. Not every week or anything like that, but once a month or two months."

"Yeah. But Andie -"

"Would be fine" Ash interrupted. "She loves Mom and we'll always be close in case something happens, which I highly doubt. Mist, we struggled so much to get this life and the last thing we deserve is to struggle further. We knew it would be inevitable but at the same time we have the opportunity to leave it every once in a while. Other parents do it and it makes them better people, not always wrapped up in everyday jobs and duties. We didn't get that opportunity when you were pregnant because someone or other was always on our backs about something." He eyed me seriously and I nodded at his words.

"I know. I just get worked up about so many stupid things and they all pile up" I sighed.

"Which is exactly why we need to do this more often. Come on, let's grab lunch, I'm starving" Ash announced. I grinned at his attitude towards food which seemed to be the only thing that hadn't matured about him and we walked to a small café across the road. I wasn't as famished as he was, so settled for a caesar salad while he went for the pasta dish with fries and some sort of teeth-rotting fizzy drink.

"You need to eat more" Ash said worriedly as I chomped on a piece of lettuce.

"Oh and you tell me to stop worrying" I teased.

"Misty really, get something else, salad isn't enough" Ash replied.

"Okay." With that I swiped a handful of his fries and sprinkled them on some spare space on my bowl. "There, something else to compliment my salad" I grinned. Ash laughed and picked a fry off his plate. He then held it towards me and I held it between my teeth before it was all in my mouth with a small kiss on his fingers to finish the action.

"And something to compliment your mouth" Ash laughed. 

"Mmm, yummy" I mumbled after my lips detached from his fingers. He smiled, took my hand and kissed the back of it before running his fingers over it. I almost shivered at the mere touch that I should've been used to by now. No words transpired between us for about a minute, we only communicated with our eyes. He loved me, I loved him, God I can't describe how much I loved him. I finally let out a nervous laugh at the intensity that was flowing between us and the rest of the lunch flew by with words and small kisses here and there.

We finally had to admit that Delia probably deserved a break by now and we slowly walked back to the apartment. It was a fair hike away but we didn't mind. The sun was shining at last and there was no real hurry - it wasn't like Delia had called Ash's cellphone in a panic or anything.

We walked through the door, radiating happiness but keeping quiet unless Andrea was sleeping. We soon discovered that she was in her grandmother's arms, watching some sort of pre-school show that she seemed absolutely fascinated with. Delia turned to us with the absolute biggest smile on her face.

"Your daughter is so _so _clever" she gushed. I raised an eyebrow and Ash bit his lip to keep from laughing. Delia would see Andrea as clever if she had an I.Q of 51. 

"What makes you say that Mom?" Ash asked.

"Guess what she did today. Go on, guess!" Delia urged. I giggled a bit before answering.

"I don't know, I don't see what she could've done to prove her intelligence."

"She smiled!" Delia suddenly announced. I gasped and took a fleeting look at Andrea, who was staring dumbfounded at the television that had her spellbound with its images and sounds.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked hesitantly. "She doesn't look any different to when we left her."

"I'm positive! Look, I'll show you." Delia grinned and turned Andrea around to face her, before she suddenly started whistling, a melody of random notes that, sure enough, caused Andrea's face to break out into a broad smile. I couldn't help shrieking at the sight, which caused her smile to drop as she faced me with wide eyes of shock.

"Oh sorry darling" I apologised, striding over to her and lifting her up in my arms. "I didn't mean to be so loud." Instead of bursting into tears as I was sure she would do, she instead lit up in another smile and reached to grab my nose which, admittedly, hurt a bit but that was the last thing on my mind.

"Look at her! She's so smart" Delia praised. Ash then took his turn to hold her and, once again, that smile shone through and even a small giggle escaped while she was in her father's arms. Ash laughed at the small sound and let Andrea pull his hair, ignoring any sort of pain she might have been inflicting. 

"Thanks so much, Delia. We really needed that break" I said gratefully.

"Oh sweetie, you know it's no problem at all. Look at him" Delia sighed, her eyes fixed on her son. "I can't believe he's standing there holding his daughter. You know Misty, there was a time when he wouldn't be able to even hold a baby, let alone make one so happy."

"I know" I replied. Ash had matured a lot through all this and the sight of Andrea giggling in his arms warmed my heart and dissolved the worries that constantly plagued my mind.

Delia left half an hour later and I set about changing Andrea and taking every moment to make her smile. She was even more beautiful when she smiled, she exuded sunshine with one tiny grin and I fell more in love with her every moment I was with her. How could anyone not? Wait, I better take that back. Mom was an exceptional example of not loving her at all.

The day drifted into the evening in no time. Andrea went down for her night's sleep at 6.30, a little earlier than usual but no biggie, and I collapsed on the couch while Ash made hot dogs. Yeah, he was cooking. Well, sort of. Heating up frankfurters and placing them in tomato sauce covered buns counted for cooking, didn't it? Either way he was making _some_ sort of dinner, which was something I hadn't even thought of all day.

"Voila, hot dogs a la Ash Ketchum" he announced with a grin as he sat down beside me with two plates. I was suddenly famished and grabbed one off him, promptly taking a huge bite out of the simple meal. "Man, I guess I really didn't have a reason to be worried about your eating habits" Ash commented lightly.

"I told you so" I mumbled with my mouth full. I gulped the mouthful down and decided to act a little more dignified. "Sorry. I didn't realise I was so hungry."

"Don't be sorry" Ash shrugged. He emphasised this by taking an even bigger chomp out of his but, of course, this was nothing but the norm for him. I was about ready to devour another bite of the quite good hot dog when naturally the phone had to interrupt me.

"Goddamn" I muttered, standing up and walking towards the kitchen where the phone was situated. "Hello?" I answered politely. I betrayed any sort of frustration I felt at having my dinner interrupted but the frustration quickly evaporated when the caller identified himself.

"Hi Misty. You're not having dinner or anything, are you?"

"Dad! Hi, no I'm not having dinner" I lied. Let my hot dog get cold, my father was on the phone.

"Oh good. How are things with you?"

"Great, everything's fine. We're all good, Andie and Ash are fine, I'm fine, it's cold though" I laughed slightly. "How are you?"

"I couldn't be better" Dad replied. I heard it in his voice too. Since leaving Mom, he was happy with freedom and it showed in everything he did. Why on earth had I been so worried about them splitting? It was probably close to the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Well that's what I like to hear" I smiled.

"I'm not gonna hold you up peachpie, I know you're busy, I just thought I'd ask you something."

"Go for it."

"I'm thinking of taking a trip up there to see you all. How would you feel about that? I don't want to get in your way or anything."

The moment he spoke those words I, for some reason I can't explain and wish I could, found myself scrambling for a lie. I was going to lie to him? Why? Why didn't I want him coming up to see us? I loved him so much, he was the only member of my family who had stuck by me, and here I was, thinking up excuses to keep him away. What perfect timing, Ash decided to walk into the kitchen at this point.

"Uh, Dad, now's probably not a good time. Andrea…she's been, um, just a little restless lately. I want to keep everything low-key around here for a while." Now okay, that last sentence wasn't entirely false. I did want things to be quiet for just a while longer. I don't know why I wanted it that way, maybe I was just catching up for the months where everything was hectic and full-on. We had wanted peace for so long and visitors, no matter how much we loved them, might've been a bit much for us.

Ash raised an eyebrow at me when he heard my pitiful lie and then proceeded to shrug without explanation. I gave him a warning look, I didn't need him distracting me, and turned back to my father on the phone. 

"I'm sorry Dad, we were just so frantic the months before Andie was born, I think we still need a bit of time to chill out."

"No that's fine, I totally understand. Trust me, I know what those horrible months were like, your mother was the reason for most of them" he reminded me. I laughed in relief. He didn't sound upset, he sounded more understanding than anything else.

"You'll definitely be staying with us soon enough, I promise Daddy. Andrea started smiling today, it's a sight you have to see. She gets more beautiful every day" I told him. 

"I didn't think that was possible, she was gorgeous when I saw her. Misty it's okay, it was just a suggestion and I had a suspicion the two of you might be burnt out enough already. A baby is demanding, isn't it?" Dad said wisely.

"God yeah" I groaned. "I knew it was hard work but I didn't realise it was _this _much hard work. She drains me a lot but I love her and she's got a routine so it's not too bad."  


"Okay, well look after yourselves and that stunning daughter of yours" Dad said.

"I'll give you a call as soon as we can get you up here, I promise. Who knows, we might even come down there and see you" I suggested.

"Either way Misty, you know anything suits me."

"Okay. Love you Daddy" I said, guilt invading my system. I really did want him up here, but I was so tired all the time. I probably wouldn't be much company.

"Love you too. Take care" Dad said worriedly.

"You too, bye." I hung up and eyed Ash's inquisitive form. "Dad wanted to come and see us. I said no" I told him flatly.

"What? Why?" Ash almost spluttered in disbelief.

"Because I just want some time to chill out. I know it's been a while since everything happened but I'm still feeling the aftershocks of it. I want Andie to settle down a bit more, she still gets a bit restless" I explained.

"Well fair enough, I don't want you tiring yourself out" Ash said. I rubbed my temples in confusion. Maybe I should've just let Dad come up anyways. I missed him heaps, and he was so good about everything and - shock horror - he actually approved of Ash. Unlike a certain other parent I won't mention…

By the time I went to bed I had thought it through and through. Dad couldn't come up until I felt a bit more settled with myself and my still new surroundings. I loved my life but I didn't want to do anything in the slightest to jeopardise it. What if Mom found out Dad was visiting and got all huffy? I definitely didn't want that.

"Don't worry about it" Ash said softly as he held me close in the dark at about 11 o'clock. "He still loves you and he'll visit us soon enough. I know how you feel, I'm exhausted every day." I nodded and smiled at him, believed him in everything he said. 

We were happy. We were safe. I didn't want anything else from life and I didn't think we deserved anything less than those simple traits.

A/N: Okay, I wrote that kinda quickly. Just sat there and typed, lol. Well I've said this in my bio, but both me and Geo would like to say a massive thank you for the reviews this early on - fourteen for just the prologue! We were honestly blown away, so thanks a lot (if you want more thanks just check out my bio!) and more to come soon!


	3. Birthday of the Broken Hearted

DISCLAIMER: We don't own Pokémon because I sure as hell know that if I did I would be taking full advantage of money and merchandise and so forth. I'll shut up now…

A/N: This was Geo's chapter and it's nearly one in the morning here so I don't wanna ramble too much like I did in the disclaimer. Read, review, all that good stuff!

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Chapter 2- Birthday Of The Broken Hearted.

As I knew I would I did not sleep too well that night. My sleeping pattern was disruptive at best, with thoughts of nothing but the situation with my father playing over and over again within my mind. I awoke for the final time that morning to the shrill ringing of the phone, the phone that had only been installed last week within our room located on the bedside table. Sighing in somewhat disgruntlement, I gingerly lent forward and picked it up.

"Hello" I announced sleepily, also trying to hide my frustration of being awaken from my distracted slumber of the previous night. 

"Morning Misty" the voice on the other end replied. My frustration dissolved as the voice became recognisable within an instant and I shot up in bed.

"Daddy? Is something wrong? It's only been, what, 13 or so hours since I last spoke with you" I replied, somewhat dreading his answer. My fears were soon laid to rest as he spoke his next sentence.

"Relax peachpie, whatever gave you the idea something was wrong?" he started with a laugh. "No, no I'm just calling to wish my baby girl a happy 17th birthday" he emphasized. At his words my throat clamped up.

"Birthday?" I asked in disbelief. As I whirled around in bed to steal a glance at Ash's sleeping form only to find his side of the bed empty.

"Yes, don't tell me my little girl forgot her own birthday?" he asked in surprise. I inhaled sharply.

"No, no." More lies, I thought. I had to stop doing this. "I've just had a lot on my plate the last few days" I confirmed.

"I see. Well I won't keep you, I can tell by the tone of your voice I have just woken you up" he started. "I sent you a little something by courier, you should get it around this evening your time" he said. A smile emerged on my lips as if I was 5-years-old again, however rather abruptly I realised we were not communicating through videophone at this time and that he could not register this. I rather hastily spoke up once more.

"Oh Daddy, you didn't have to do that" I assured him.

"Don't be silly Misty, considering the year you have had you deserve a day to let your hair down and be spoiled, what better day than today?" my father explained.

"I suppose you're right dad, although with Andie I am not too sure I'll have the time for much today" I confessed.

"Ahh, but you see princess, that's where that man of yours comes in" he emphasized with a chuckle. I had to blink away my tears at this statement. Oh my god, he called him my man, my father recognising the one I love for what he truly is, my lover, my soul mate, my man, my Ash.

"I can't ask that of Ash on his own, Dad" I replied, keeping my emotions in check.

"Ok fair enough" he started "I did not call to pick a fight with you, like I said just called to say enjoy your day and all."

"I will" I promised him.

"Say hey to that granddaughter of mine, and you let me know when your ready, as soon as you feel up to it I'll be out there on the next flight out to see you all" he told me. I paused a moment, part of me wanted to tell him just to catch the next flight out within the next hour, then that nagging feeling overwhelmed me again and I found myself spouting out.

"Absolutely. I'll talk to you soon yeah?"

"You can count on it. Bye honey!"

"Bye Dad." And with that the phone went dead. I reached over and placed the receiver back on its stance. Bloody hell, it really was my birthday, with the move and everything with Andrea playing on my mind the last several months it had totally crept up on me. The only thing I was intently looking ahead to was Christmas, mainly due to the fact it would be Andie's first.

"Ah well" I said, stretching as I sat upright in bed. "Happy birthday kiddo" I announced to myself, realising that, excusing my father, that would be the only time I would hear that today. For with all that has happened, I could not blame Ash if he forgot, mainly due to the fact that I had.

A few minutes later, after my morning ritual of staring blankly at myself within the mirror of my bedroom, and thinking of all I had gained within a short time span, I was now undressed with only a towel engulfing my body as I made my way to the bathroom, for as with the previous morn it was freezing and I longed for warm water once more. As I made my way to the bathroom a thought struck me. Where was Ash? Andrea was still asleep, as I had checked up on her a few seconds prior to my arrival at the bathroom door. Shrugging this notion aside, I entered the bathroom and pushed open the shower door. As I reached out for the hot water tap, I felt a hand lay to rest on mine and a strong secure arm envelop around my waist and pull me inside, as the water proceeded to run.

"What the hell!" I shrieked in surprise, as I whirled around only to be confronted by the figure of the father of my daughter.

"Hey relax," he started pulling me closer " I don't look that bad do I?" he asked somewhat jokingly. I immediately broke apart from him.

"Bastard! You scared the shit out of me." 

"Sorry" he admitted sheepishly. He paused as he laid his hands to rest on my shoulders, a touch that in all honesty I adored, his next actions both startled me, and sent my heart into a frenzy of love and adoration for the boy holding me in his arms. He tucked his hand under my chin, bent forward and initiated a kiss so tender I had to physically pinch myself to make sure it was real.

"W...what was that for?" I asked almost speechless as he broke it. He leaned forward and brushed his forehead upon mine.

"Happy Birthday" he replied softly. My mouth gaped open. God I know I keep saying it, but I cannot emphasize enough just how deep my love runs for this guy. He pulls little moments of magic out of the blue like this all the time, and they are very welcome especially in my troubled of times.

"Y…. You remembered…" I choked out. He nodded.

"Not something I can afford to forget" he told me. "If not for fear of being knocked silly by you, then for the fact that I love you alone." I lost it at that statement, and actually started sobbing. While dense old Ash thought he had said something out of line and frantically started apologising a thousand times over.

"Ash!" I said strongly, interrupting his rambled words of begging for forgiveness for whatever he had done wrong.

"I'm just upset cause of the emotion involved, ya know, love." I raised an eyebrow at him with a grin as my tears began to subside. 

"Oh" he said somewhat embarrassed at his mistake, however seeing that trademark grin emerge on his lips I could tell he had shrugged this aside within a microsecond

"I have something for you" he told me softly as he whirled a lock of my now wet hair around his finger. I smirked at him as I cast my eyes over his exposed form.

"Really?" I start smiling brightly. "That's so thoughtful of you honey! But from what I can see, you have just gift wrapped the same junk I stopped playing with last year" I mocked as he shot me down in flames with a look that spoke volumes in itself. I immediately stopped laughing assuming this was serious. His facial expression soon softened, as he pulled me against him yet again, and once more kissed me. No more words were said as an understanding passed between us both, and for some inexplicable reason, I had the urge to make love to him right there within the shower. However a shrilled cry soon put an end to that theory as Andrea's cries could be heard over the showers waterproof inter-com. I sighed.

"You go get dressed, I'll go" Ash assured me as he opened the door and held it for me. Kissing him briefly I did as he had asked and made my way to our bedroom.

A few minutes later I was dressed as Ash walked back into our bedroom, with an envelope in hand.

"She ok?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah she's fine, she must realise it's mom's birthday, went right back to sleep once I moved that stuffed bear my mom sent over beside her" he explained. I nodded as I sat myself down upon the bed.

"Speaking of birthdays" Ash said walking up to me, "here you go" he said, holding out the envelope to me. I stared at him a moment, and then took it from his hands.

"It isn't documentation for custody rights is it?" I asked jokingly as Ash pulled on a shirt.

"Nope, just the right to show you that I - hell Mist, open it" he told me. I shrugged and began to do as he had asked. He watched me a moment and spoke up.

"It isn't much, in fact it has no cost value, and I'm hoping the sentimental value will be priceless though" he said. I nodded as I removed a sheet of paper and a simple card from the now opened envelope. I firstly opened the card and read its words.

To Mom

Happy birthday

Love Andrea

The words were few and simple. However Ash doing that on her behalf meant more then you could possibly ever know. It was then I went to unfold the sheet of paper that came with the card when Ash placing another piece in my hand stopped me.

"Can you take a look at this first? It's a song I wrote, the night you told me we can keep Andie, was going to send it over to Brocko so he could add some music to it so would like your take on it" he said. I nodded and put the other sheet to the side, and then with a sharp intake of breath I opened the paper and began to scan its words. The lyrics were beautiful, the lyrics were heartfelt, and the lyrics were Ash, my Ash's overall view of his daughter. They simply read.

Andréa's Song

The road back home is often travelled alone   
and for why that is, well only heaven knows.  
'Cause I find the strength lies in walking a straight line  
with someone to lean on and share the load.

Andrea D, You have changed my recipe  
Andrea D, Every Moment I love you.

The lonesome soul leads to a pot of gold  
Is a worn out fable that grows tedious and old.  
'Cause I find in more ways, that after a long day,  
I'm the richest man when I have you to hold.

Andrea D, You have changed my recipe  
Andrea D, Every Moment I love you.

Andrea you've saved the soul   
of this troubled man whose highs and lows   
were filled with glamour and hard to take blows  
of loving hands holding a thorny rose.  


Andrea, it's time you know  
that I'm convinced, that I'm sold.  
I ain't worth nothing without you to hold.

It's a two-bit part to play the man with no heart  
and take curtain calls when you have mastered the art.  
'Cause I've come to find that at the end of the third act  
the hero's the fool, 'tis the lover whose smart.

Andrea D, You have changed my recipe  
Andrea D, Every Moment I love you.

Andrea.  
Andrea.  
Andrea.

I could not hide my tears, as I read his words of love and heartfelt thoughts directed towards our daughter. I smiled up at him.

"It's beautiful" I whispered as he reached down and wiped away some of the tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Just like you" he murmured. "Have a look see at yours now." I gasped.

"That's would you did for my birthday? You composed a song for me?" I asked stunned. He smiled. 

"Well as I recall, a certain someone gave me an enlarged picture of herself last Christmas, so I guess this balances that out" he said.

"Ash, you know damn well it's the thought that counts, I'm sure I'll love it" I told him. Love, it was an understatement beyond words, because I could relate to every word he had written. It showed me he was with me for love, for as long as I would need him, regardless of the circumstances what future events I was about to endure, he would be there. His words of dedication to me simply read.

The Remedy

Throw down your choice of weapon.  
Set aside that heavy cross you bare,  
and learn a sacred lesson.  
You'll find the answer's waiting here.

Behind the dark depression.  
Beneath the weeping willow tree,  
when you need a safe port in the storm  
Send a call out for me.

I'm your remedy.  
I'm your remedy.  
When you close your eyes and all you find are thoughts of tragedy.  
Stare in the face of the beast within,  
I'll help you rise above your own misfortune.

Tear down the false hope fences  
Put up to block your point of view.  
Why gift-wrap present tenses  
When the here and now's addressed to you.

Dissolve all past indifference  
and build a shelf for mislaid blame.  
Words can bridge the distance.  
And help you heal your pain.

I'm your remedy.  
I'm your remedy.  
When you close your eyes and all you find are thoughts of tragedy.  
Stare in the face of the beast within,  
I'll help you rise above your own misfortune.

Is it just a fatal pride   
that stands between two foolish sides  
and starves you from within.  
Before your outlook fades from sight  
Head into the shining flashing light  
don't ever be afraid.  
Help is on the way.

I'm your remedy.  
I'm your remedy.  
When you close your eyes and all you find are thoughts of tragedy.  
Stare in the face of the beast within,  
I'll help you rise above your own misfortune.

I'm your remedy.

"Mist." Ash starts, kneeling down beside me, and taking my hands in his. "I mean every single word of that, in your darkest of times, in your hour of need, I'll be there. I guess what I'm trying to say is -" I did not let him finish as I lunged forward and engulfed him in a kiss I, in all honesty, did not want to let him go from. I rather surprisingly had to when our bedroom doorknob started moving freely. I eyed Ash worriedly as I got off of him as he sprung to his feet, and stood behind the door fists at the ready * Good old Ash! It could be a burgler with a shot gun or something and he's standing there like he's about to participate in a pokemon battle age 12 again* I thought to myself. With that in mind I threw him over one of my old shoes, what help that would be I had no idea as the door opened.

"Alright stop right-" Ash was cut short as a third familiar voice shouted four words.

"Breeder with a baby!!!" My mouth gaped open, for standing there holding a giggling Andrea in his arms was Brock.

"Brock!" Ash muttered, dropping my shoe.

"You scared the hell out of us!!" I chipped in. Brock grinned as he walked over and gave Andrea to me.

"So this is why you were being ignored sweetheart, Mom and dad were playing doctors and nurses on your time" he joked noticing my messed up hair and dis-jointed clothing.

"That's not funny!" I retorted as I arose from the floor and gave Andrea to her father.

"How long you been in town?" Ash asked him.

"Got in late last night on a late flight, was kind of late to bother you guys, so I crashed at Delia's last night." Ash eyed me a moment.

"You spent the night at my moms?" I heard him say. Brock raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah so? What you implying?" Ash by his standards said nothing and just shrugged it aside.

"Uh, nothing" he said, as I put forth the next question.

"So what brings our favourite breeder to town?" I asked him.

"Well, sort of remembered it was your birthday today, so I thought I'd stop by and give you this" he said, placing some sort of voucher in my hand. I gazed at it; it was a voucher for 75% off all items of clothing at the Pallet mall.

"And also to offer my services as driver/personal lackey for the day" Brock stopped. "That is, if your man here don't mind baby sitting for a few hours while you go on a shopping spree" he chuckled.

"I don't mind at all, you go ahead honey" Ash assured me as I walked forward and planted one on his lips, as Brock began to leave the room.

"I'll go start the car, I'll have her back in a couple of hours Ash" Brock assured him.

"Thank you for this" I whispered.

"You better go, your driver's waiting" he smiled at me.

"I love you." He nodded.

"Right back at you." And with that I left the room to catch up with Brock.

I can honestly say, that this was one of the best days I had had in a long time. I had gotten numerous good deals, with some new things for Andrea, myself, and I was even able to pick a few things out for Ash in the process, which is no easy feat let me tell you. I got so many things that by the time Brock and myself got home, he was no longer recognisable under the mountain of shopping bags. I practically bounced through our front door as I rushed up to Ash who was situated on the couch

"Honey! I have had the best time today!" I beamed. However it is when he looked up and locked eyes with me a panic enveloped my body. Something was wrong.

"Ash?" I asked worriedly. My eyes widened. "Oh my God, Andrea!" I screamed, turning and making a dash for her room only to have Ash get up and hold me back as Brock also began to wonder what was going on

"Mist…. she's fine…" he announced dryly.

"Then what is it?" I asked placing a hand on his cheek. He looked up at me tears emerging at the rims of his eyes.

"Mist…. please don't make me do it" he choked out. What? I was now confused as hell, what was he on about?

"Do what?" I asked tenderly. He paused a moment and eyed Brock.

"Brock, can you go check on Andie for us?" he asked him. Brock, respecting our privacy, nodded with a smile and left the room.

"Misty" he started taking my hands again. "You had a phone call while you were gone, there is a number there you have got to phone. Please dial it" he almost begged. I gazed both between Ash and the phone and sighed.

"Y…. You know what's awaiting me once I dial that number don't you?" I asked shakily. And for the first time in years he could not bring himself to look at me.

"Ash" I started taking his face in my hands and reverting his eyes to gaze into mine. "Please, what's wrong?" He shook his head at me.

"Please Mist…. I swore to god I would never be the one to break your heart again, dial it" he told me. Break my heart? I gulped.

"Ash, I am not liking the sounds of this, please, if it's bad I would rather hear it from the man I love then a stranger on a telephone line" I begged. He sighed.

"Misty…I had a call from the chief security and medical officers of Cinnabar Island while you were out." I nodded.

"So?"

"Misty…. I'm so sorry sweetheart, but your father was found dead in his hotel room just over an hour ago." 

As soon as those words left his mouth my knees buckled and I collapsed into his arms. For some reason to begin with I did not cry. I can't explain it but I didn't.

"Dead?" I choked out. He nodded. It was then something hit me as the shock was sinking in.

"Oh my god…" I shrieked as my tears became evident.

Ash pulled me close. "I've booked you on a flight for Cinnabar later tonight" he started. I cut him short.

"You don't understand, Dad called me this morning, Ash the last things I ever directly told my father were lies. Why did I not let come? Why did I lie to him? I could have told him that…. that I loved him" I wailed as Ash tried his best efforts to comfort me.

"How did it happen?" I finally choked out, after several minutes of sobbing into his shirt.

"First indications look like a brain hemorrhage" he whispered, looking at me and wiping my tears away. "I promise you Mist, I'll help you through this, whenever you need me remember?" he asked, referring to the lyrics to the song he had written for me. I nodded as I leant forward and bestowed my lips upon his in a kiss of reassurance, love and hope, for in all honesty it was all that stopped me from crying. For my father was now gone, taken from me in a cruel twist of fate, and on my birthday of all days. Ash was all I had now, Ash and Andrea, and I knew I had to be strong and get through this, if not for myself, then for them.

A/N: And the big one hits early! Well actually there's a few biggies in this fic, anyways it's late and I'm tired so I'll wrap it up with a biiig thank you for the reviews and I'll be starting the next chapter tomorrow. Thanks guys!


	4. Readings and reunions

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon, Geo doesn't own Pokémon, some people in Japan or America do. Apparently. I dunno, gonna move on now…

A/N: My chapter, yeeha, lol. Well yeah, I don't have much to say except, once again, thanks so much for all the reviews and kind words as they keep us going. Read on read on!

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Chapter Three - Reunions and readings 

I somehow found the strength to dial the number Ash had written down near the phone and listen to those tainted words again. Once more I was told that my father had died of an unconfirmed brain hemorrhage that would be check out by a pathologist, and again the news resounded in my brain like it was challenging me to believe what I heard. But I couldn't believe it, even as I flatly packed a suitcase to take to Cinnabar that night. How could I face this? Dad hadn't deserved to die so young and now I was feeling my heart shatter all over again.

I stared at the half-empty suitcase blankly, no emotion showing on my face, even as it ravaged me within. This was just another hurdle I had to jump over but I had a feeling this one would take a lot longer to clear.

Daddy…I lied to you. You could've been here, I could've got you to a hospital or at least said goodbye…

Wracked with bereavement, I collapsed on the bed and burst into uncontrollable tears again, which brought Ash running in a microsecond. 

"Oh Mist" he sighed, holding me close as I let out my grief through my tears. "Shh. He's happy now and -"

"How can you say that?!" I yelled. "He's _dead_, my dad is dead and dead people don't feel anything!" My raised tones instantly startled Andrea, who notified us of this through the wails she sent down the hall. So I had just cut her afternoon nap short. Great. I shakily stood up before Ash placed his hands on my shoulders and forced me to sit down again.

"Don't move a muscle." With that he practically sprinted out the door and was back in record time with our now content daughter in his arms. "I can get Brock to look after her if you want."

"No" I shook my head and held out my arms. I just needed to hold her, to feel that warmth she radiated around me. With a placid little yawn she snuggled into my arms and looked up at me like she knew something was wrong. I swear she's got intuition. The day she was born she almost silently pleaded with me like she knew I was set on giving her up. She swayed me then and now she was of some comfort to me.

"My gorgeous angel" I whispered, stroking her hair. "You'll never remember the great man your grandfather was. He…" I couldn't go on and gratefully let Ash hold me close again.

"Come on. You don't wanna miss your flight" he said gently after a few minutes of silence. Didn't I? Maybe I did. Then again, that wouldn't make the pain go away. I had talked to Dad's lawyer on the phone who wanted me there for the reading of his will, which was the next day.

In the end Ash had to help me pack because I kept on spacing out with random thoughts and memories of my father. I suppose that's better than an outburst similar to the one I had put Ash through only minutes earlier. So he finished off my packing and I fed Andrea before he announced it was time to go.

Oh my God. Where had the time gone? I panicked as I realised I was entering the unknown without my family but Ash comforted me with his promises and reassurances.

"We'll catch up with you in a day or two. You need to be there first for the will but we'll be there tomorrow night or the next day. Soon Mist, I promise." Soon wasn't soon enough for me. I wanted them there now, I wanted them to board the plane with me so I didn't have to be left alone with my thoughts. But Ash had hurriedly booked the flight and we both knew how hard it was to go anywhere with Andrea. It took time to sort everything out for her, we couldn't have done it as quickly as I had packed.

The airport was crowded as he spoke those words to me and kissed me in full public view as more tears streamed down my cheeks. I just couldn't stop them. My vision was still blurry when we finally pulled away from each other.

"Be good for Daddy. I'll see you soon" I whispered to Andrea, holding her tiny hands with my shaking ones. I reverted my gaze back to Ash. "I don't think I can do this. See if there's a spare seat, book it now, just jump on the plane for God's sake, I can't do this by myself."

"Misty, you know we can't take Andie to a will reading. Tomorrow night, I swear, and I'll call you the minute you land. Now get going, the longer you hang around the more I'm tearing myself apart." I placed a hand on his cheek, overwhelmed by the sincerity of his statement, and kissed him one last time.

"I love you so much" I whimpered through my oncoming tears.

"We're right behind you honey. Be strong. We'll see you soon." I nodded, kissed them both quickly goodbye and rushed to the boarding gate for fear of physically dragging them on the plane with me. I had to see myself through just one day and then I'd see them again. With a final wave I slowly started walking towards the aircraft that would take me somewhere I didn't want to go.

The plane was full and it wasn't until I sat down that my thoughts completely took me over into zombie status. My gaze out the window led my empty eyes to nowhere as the plane took off. The woman sitting next to me attempted conversation but I think my monosyllabic responses only encouraged her to stop. 

The rest of the forty minute flight I spent in silence, occasionally swiping at my eyes to destroy potential tears and glancing out the windows at the blackened sky.

One of many random thoughts that crossed my mind's path was that of the afterlife. Did it exist? Here I was, flying high above the world among clouds that many considered to be homes for spirits in the next life, and yet I didn't feel any closer to my father. If anything I only felt more distant from him at the thought of him being so out of reach while I was on earth.

Swiping at more tears, I vaguely heard the captain's voice announcing that we were landing. Sure enough the clouds disappeared and before I knew it the wheels had hit the runway of the island Dad had called home for too short a time.

My single suitcase was held firmly in my trembling hand as I stepped inside the small but bustling airport. Everywhere I turned people were greeting friends and relatives with hugs and kisses and exclamations at the time span that had passed since their last meeting. But that wasn't for me. I was a 17-year old girl alone in the middle of an airport with no one coming to meet me and so disoriented with grief that I couldn't even figure out where the taxi stands were.

Vulnerable? Just slightly.

Despite my initial disorientation I found the taxi stands and grabbed a cab with the name of the hotel Ash had booked me into earlier. The cabbie seemed to know where he was going which I was grateful for since I didn't have a clue, only a hotel name.

I sighed as I was whizzed through Cinnabar. Everything was lit up in tourist festivities that I had once so longed to be a part of. Now I just wanted to crawl into a corner and drown myself in my own tears.

Which hotel had he been staying at? It wasn't the same one I was going to, was it? No, that would be too morbid. Where had Dad spent his last hours? What was he doing, thinking, feeling? And why was I asking myself such pointless questions?

"Would you like me to take your bag into the lobby?" the cabbie asked politely as he turned off the engine. What? We were there? I slowly stepped out and took in my surroundings. The hotel was one of many in the area and it was big, but what I loved about it was the name. Carmel By The Sea. Ash had really pulled out all the stops.

I was shown to my room which was on the eighth floor and I slowly walked through in a surreal state of mind after being handed my key. I was all alone on the island my father had died on. This thought transformed into tears that didn't stop for fifteen minutes. Only then did my sobbing cease thanks to the sound of the phone.

"Hello?" I croaked out.

"Hi beautiful. Did you have a good trip over?" Ash asked.

"All things considered, I suppose so" I said quietly. I sniffled before I next spoke. "Thank you Ash, you didn't have to do all this."

"Well actually I did. You deserve only the best, especially now. How are you feeling?"

"Terrible. I can't face tomorrow" I quivered.

"Yes you can, tomorrow's when you see us. Me and Andie and Brocko get in at 7.30 so be prepared for an intrusion in that room of yours" Ash said teasingly.

"Brock's coming too?"

"Yeah. He can be the babysitter if you ever wanna, you know, just talk with me or whatever. He offered actually, mainly because he's so bloody worried about you, as am I." I gulped back more tears at what he had just said. They were both that concerned about my wellbeing. "What time is the reading tomorrow?" Ash asked.

"It starts at ten" I replied.

"I'll be thinking of you. I've started packing Andie's things" Ash announced. See, this is why he hadn't booked her and himself on the same flight as me. Just packing for her alone is one small mountain of a task.

"God, I miss you both so much" I whispered. It was true, even after only a few hours apart. Saying goodbye to them at the airport had broken my heart and now this phone call was both comforting and inevitably painful. There was always a goodbye at the end of a phone call and I never wanted to say goodbye to Ash again.

"We miss you too. Andrea was a little bit unsettled when we got home from the airport but she's asleep now and she's fine, so I don't want you stressing about her."

"Yes sir" I smiled weakly. 

"You sound beat. I better let you get some rest" Ash said. "We'll get a cab to the hotel tomorrow so expect to see us around about eight. Until then you look after yourself, you hear me? If you ever need to call me just do it, I don't care if it's three in the morning or whatever, just call, okay?"

"Okay" I replied meekly. "I love you."

"I love you too. See ya tomorrow."

"See ya." I slowly hung the phone back up and stared at it for a long time in silence. So many thoughts crammed my head into a painful orb of despair that I had to lie down on the couch in defeat. I couldn't battle this forever, I had to let myself go. I cried a thousand tears for the father I had lost before feeling myself slip into a grief-induced sleep.

*******

I woke up at eight the next morning with a throat that resembled sandpaper and my eyes so sore I could barely open them. A grief hangover. Urgh.

It was a beautiful Cinnabar Island day. The beach was a stone's throw away and already eager surfers were testing the morning waters. People strolled along the boardwalk, many of them with prams, and I had to hold back my tears. It was so painfully strange not to wake up to the sound of Andrea's cries and the feeling of Ash's arms around me.

I slowly sat up, not really enjoying the idea of waking up in yesterday's clothes, and yawned in an attempt to loosen my jaw a bit. It was then that I heard a knock on the door. Panic set a rhythm in my heart at the sound and I gulped nervously before walking towards the door.

Why I didn't ask who was there is beyond me, for in my devastated state I truly should have. But I simply opened the door and gasped in shock at who stood in front of me. Daisy, Violet and Lily. The three sisters who had turned their backs on me all those months ago. How did they know I was staying here?

A stony silence ensued as I found absolutely no courage to initiate any sort of conversation. I was soon to be shocked when they all calmly walked past me into my room without a single word.

"I hope you're happy Mist" Daisy started coolly. "Not only did you bring down our sales, force us to sell the gym and totally humiliate us, you killed Dad."

"WHAT?!" I shouted at the blunt words.

"If you hadn't convinced Dad to leave Mom he would've been at home with us and we could've saved him. But you said it would be better for him if he left and he did, and now he's gone" Violet added.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I said through clenched teeth.

"Oh come on, Misty!" Daisy suddenly shouted. "He always listened to you and he always took your side! Even when that Ash idiot knocked you up he couldn't see any wrong in you. After you and Mom fell out he couldn't stop asking if you could come back. But she said no and he went running, after seeing you so supposedly happy away from home."

"You told Dad it was better away from Cerulean, didn't you?" Violet scowled accusingly.

"No! I never told him anything!" I said defensively.

"Bullshit Mist. We know he visited you in Pallet" Violet told me. I quickly glanced at Lily, who hadn't spoken a word at all and who was keeping her eyes to the floor.

"Yeah but that was _after_ he had decided to leave Mom. He told me that day and I never even suspected it would happen. I never wanted them to split up" I explained.

"Sure, sure. God, why do you always have to screw everything up?" Daisy asked, striking a nerve in me as she did. She had once been so worried about me, she had encouraged me to fess up to Ash on both occasions we got together. And now…

"Where's the kid?" Violet asked crudely, causing my eyes to narrow at her aloofness. She made 'the kid' sound like a lost remote control or something. I sighed and rubbed at my sore eyes.

"She's at home with Ash."

"How touching" Daisy sniggered. "Little Miss Illegitimate stays home with Dada while Mama jets off to confront the fact that she killed her kid's ever-doting grandfather."

I think it was that statement that pried my fingertips off the cliff of sanity. My actions were controlled by a demon I very rarely saw within me as I strode over to my sister and punched her with all the fury she had just installed in me. She staggered back from the force and shrieked when she had caught her breath.

"You little bitch!" she yelled.

"Excuse me, _I'm_ the bitch?" I asked mockingly.

"You just punched me!"

"Yeah, and you just accused me of something I didn't do and disrespected my family in one sentence. That hurts more than a little punch" I sneered.

"I'll show you which one hurts more" Daisy said callously. She started to charge towards me before Lily held her back.

"Daisy, don't." So she had spoken at long last. Daisy looked at her like she was crazy. "Fighting won't help anyone. Come on, I knew this was a bad idea" Lily said quietly.

"The bad idea was ever communicating with that skank over there" Daisy said viciously. I had forgotten how poisonous she could be and silently watched them walk towards the door.

"This isn't over, Misty. It's far from over. You'll pay for killing Dad" Violet announced, before she stormed out after the other two and slammed the door. I stood there shaking in anger and disbelief at what they had just implied. I didn't kill Dad. I didn't! I never told him to leave Mom and I never told him how much happier I was without her.

Then again, he knew how happy I was. He had seen it for himself and when he told me he was leaving her I had been all for it if it meant he would be happy. If I had convinced him to stay in Cerulean with Mom and my sisters, would they have saved him? Would he still be alive? Oh God, that punch was sure to have some kind of ramifications too.

"No dammit, no!" I yelled out loud. "Cut me some fucking slack!" I didn't mean to use such harsh words directed to nobody but not for the first time in my life I felt myself on the verge of a breakdown. I threw myself back on the couch and punched the cushions in a furious battle against my emotions. Damn my sisters. Damn them and my mother.

I was really tempted to call Ash, so tempted that I picked up the phone and dialed out the first three numbers of our phone number before I quickly hung up. He didn't deserve to hear my ranting and raving this early in the morning. Andrea would be up and dealing with a baby and an emotionally crippled girlfriend would not be easy.

With a sigh I wiped my eyes _again_ and stood up to prepare for the day ahead. God knew it wasn't going to be easy, especially after the little taste I had just received from my sisters.

But I didn't have much time to think. Ten o'clock was rolling around faster than I had given it credit for and I quickly showered and put on the clothes I had picked out for this. I was wearing a skirt (I still detested them immensely but I had to show some sort of formality) and a white shirt with lace short sleeves. Simple but elegant. Blah. I felt anything but.

I took the lift down to the lobby and ordered a cab from the free phone down there. The reading was taking place at a lawyer's office in the middle of town and I very quickly found myself handing money over to the cabbie and standing in awe at the tall building in front of me. God, where was time going today?

I nervously asked for directions and was led to two big oak doors, one which was open, before being ushered inside by the receptionist who had shown me the way. Sitting at a table were two lawyers, my sisters…and Mom. There she was, her hands clasped together, all in black like she was _actually _in mourning. I somehow doubted it and sat down as far away from my family as possible, avoiding their eyes, especially Daisy's who was sporting a blue and black contusion to her left eye.

"Hi Misty. I'm Tony and this is Aaron. We're going to make this as stress-free as possible. Thank you for being so punctual."

Punctual? I was the last one to arrive. I shrugged it aside and smiled weakly before Aaron held up a piece of paper that had been lying on the table.

"The reading of the will of Jeffery Waterflower is now in session." Well they said it would be stress-free, they didn't say anything about it being quite so formal. "All assets and properties have been assigned in this will."

Properties? Why was that in the plural? Dad had only owned the gym and the house they had moved to later on. I didn't know about anything else.

"To Maria Waterflower, wife of Mr. Waterflower, the two properties in his name are handed over to her and officially in her name after she has signed the contracts."

Huuuh? Now I was _really_ confused. What two properties? The gym had been sold so…

Mom nodded anyway and I continued to sit there in silenced confusion. Her eyes wandered over to me and I knew the black clothes couldn't fool me. She still had the same eyes of steel that showed a soul as black and as empty as the day she had kicked me out. I shuddered and turned away from her gaze. How the hell could she be so intimidating?

"To Daisy, Lily, Violet and Misty Waterflower, his four daughters, he leaves a quarter of his assets to the value of five hundred thousand dollars each."

I nearly choked. Five hundred _thousand _dollars?! Dad didn't have that much money. If that was a quarter that meant he had…two million dollars. Two million! I had never known! We'd never had huge luxuries growing up but all along my father had been a millionaire. Maybe selling the gym up had done it. Maybe he'd secretly won the lottery. I couldn't think of anything else that would do it.

"They are not to inherit this money until they reach the age of twenty-one" Tony added. 

"Actually my daughters' shares will all be going to my name. None of them are twenty-one" Mom suddenly announced. I sent her a wide-eyed look but she never glanced my way.

"Well I suppose that makes sense" Tony said casually while Aaron nodded.

"No hold up, shouldn't my share just stay in my name until I turn twenty-one?" I asked weakly.

"Well since there is a condition and you are a minor then the next of kin is allowed to decide what do to with the assets" Aaron announced.

"Yes but it's there under my name" I protested.

"Misty, listen to the lawyers. They know more than you" Violet piped up. I shot her a lethal glare and then turned back to Aaron.

"How can me being a minor make the assets be handed to my mother?" I asked.

"Well someone has to look after them" Aaron explained.

"But I've got a kid back home!" I exclaimed. Oops. The complete wrong thing to say. Why did I even say that? As I thought they would, both lawyers sent me disapproving looks and then glanced at each other.

"We'll have to consult the books about this. Having a child as a minor might jeopardise your chances of inheriting" Tony announced.

"Are you serious?" I asked in a shocked whisper. Both of them nodded and I stared at the table in disbelief. "It's under _my _name, my father left it to _me_, not my mother. You can't disallow me to inherit and give it all to her."

"As the next of kin she can legally decide what to do with it. I'm sorry Misty, that's the law" Tony said casually. Oh yeah, he sounded so incredibly sorry. I somehow had the feeling my mother had consulted them before this meeting and the discreet smug look she sent me only confirmed my fears.

"But -"

"Misty, don't argue with the law." It was the first time my mother had spoken to me directly since I'd arrived. I glared at her. "I can use the money to buy the gym back. It'll be wonderful." Her happy voice deceived the ugliness within her so well that the lawyers smiled as their hearts were warmed.

"I don't want you to buy the stupid gym back!" I snapped. "That's my inheritance, it's the only thing Dad's left me, and I don't want you meddling with it."

"We're letting Mom have our share. It'd be selfish of you not to do the same" Daisy said in an overly sweet tone. "And besides, it's the law. She's entitled to it before you are." There was a serious temptation inside me telling me to give her right eye the same treatment her left one had received earlier that morning but instead I clenched my fists and calmly locked eyes with the lawyers.

"I've never heard of such a law."

"Yeah but you'd heard of statutory rape and that didn't stop you, did it?" Violet pointed out smugly. Oh I was gonna kill her. I tried to ignore her remarks as best I could and turned back to the lawyers when a sudden thought struck me.

"Is there anything in the will concerning Ash or Andrea Ketchum?" I asked.

"Um…" Tony scanned over the paper. "No, there doesn't appear to be."

"Are you sure?"

"No Ketchums sorry." I clenched my teeth in frustration. Dad must not have updated it before he died. I grabbed a hold of my emotions and thanked them anyway. They then said the reading was over and apologised but they had to attend to other business. This left the five of us in the room alone and as soon as the door closed behind them Mom turned on me.

"How dare you punch your sister like that! You could've damaged her eye!"

"Yeah, I guess cos her brain's already damaged enough as it is" I shrugged casually. Mom's face almost turned purple but I didn't back down. "You can't have the assets Dad left me. It doesn't make sense."

"Whether you like it or not Misty, I am still your mother. The assets automatically go to me. Your father didn't update the will so that's how it goes. Those are the breaks" Mom announced. 

"I fought you once before Mom and you lost. Don't think I won't do it again" I said warningly. 

"Go for your life. The law will only stand in your way."

"I _know _there's no such law. There can't be" I said desperately.

"I'm afraid there is. The other three are willing to co-operate, why aren't you?" Mom asked, almost forlornly, as Daisy and Violet looked at me with fake pained eyes. Lily, again, kept her eyes low. That was really starting to confuse me.

"Oh let's see Mom, cos you were a total bitch to me during one of the hardest stages in my life, is that a good enough reason?" I asked sarcastically. She glared at me and stood up with my sisters.

"We'll see you at the funeral I suppose."

"You are having the funeral here, right?" I asked timidly.

"Why would we have it here? Your father lived in Cerulean City. His funeral will be there. It's already being organised so don't you dare try and make any sort of protest about this" Mom declared.

"But he didn't live there his whole life. He was happy here, he wanted to start a new life here. One without you" I added under my breath. This didn't help Mom's glaring and she walked past me towards the door.

"We'll be seeing you later, Misty." With that she and the other three left, and I sat in the big room all by myself, my head whirling in confusion. She had to be making up that shit about this so-called law, she had to have bribed the lawyers or something. I knew that any assets left to me went to me regardless of my age or whether I had children. 

I couldn't bear to think about it and so instead walked back outside and grabbed a cab back to my hotel. Dad was going to have his funeral in Cerulean, probably the last place he would have wanted it, so I'd have to go up there to attend it. It was all too mind boggling and I trudged back to my room with a heavy heart. My father's wishes were going to go unlistened. 

I walked through to my room and nearly fell over in shock at the sight of Ash holding Andrea on the couch. Brock was sitting on the other couch reading the day's newspaper and they looked up at me as I made my entrance.

"It's not eight yet, is it?" I asked wearily. I wouldn't have had much of a clue about the time in the state I was in. Ash smiled, handed Andrea to Brock and walked up to me.

"Surprise. We got the earlier flight" he whispered. I stared at him in disbelief before his form became blurry thanks to my tears and I collapsed into his arms, sobbing into his chest. He held me close the only way he could and stroked my hair while I cried like there was no tomorrow. "How did it go?" he asked quietly.

"Horribly. Mom's threatening to take what he left me and my sisters have been total bitches and he didn't update it so there's nothing for you or Andie" I blubbered uncontrollably. 

"Oh boy" Ash sighed. He kissed the top of my head. "She can't beat us, remember? We've watched her fall enough to know that she is pretty weak when it comes to these sorts of things." I think he was going to say more but a knock on the door stopped him. "Hang on, I'll grab that" he offered. He let go of me and I smiled weakly at Brock, who reflected the gesture while Andie was seated on his knee.

"Hi Ash, is Misty in?"

I heard the voice but didn't quite believe it. I spun around to meet Lily's eyes and she half-smiled at me. Ash turned to me with a look that said something along the lines of 'be careful' and I slowly walked up to her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked quietly.

"Um, this is gonna sound totally absurd after everything that happened today, but…uh, can I see my niece?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"What? No! You can't! Go on, go and scheme some more ways to make my life a misery, I don't want your shit around here" I said vehemently.

"Misty please, hear me out. Mom is being so stupid and I'm the only one who can see that. I want my assets too but I don't have much of a choice. She's being a total bitch. I've been dying to call you these last couple of months but she won't let me and the number would come up on the phone bill. Dad told me your little girl is a real sweetie" Lily smiled. 

I paused. Was this some kind of cheap trick that Mom was working on behind the scenes? I searched my sister's eyes and realised why she had been so quiet at our last two confrontations. She didn't want any part of what Mom was doing. I sighed and held the door open for her.

"I dunno about this Lily. The other two -"

"Are being total cows. Ignore them. That blonde bitch deserved everything you gave her this morning" Lily grinned. It was then her eye caught a hold of Andrea and she physically brought a hand to her chest in shock. I saw her gulp before she turned to me with wide eyes. "Is that her?" she whispered.

"Yeah" I said sheepishly. "That's Andrea."

"Andrea" Lily murmured. "Oh my God, Misty she's…beautiful. She's so gorgeous. How can Mom hate her? God…" She trailed off and managed to tear her eyes away from my daughter to face me. "I'm sorry Misty, I can't stay long, Mom will -" A beeping sound was heard from her cellphone, interrupting her words and she sighed. "That'll be her now. I better go. Can I come back some time and see her again?"

"Um, s-sure" I stammered. Lily smiled and walked back to the door.

"She really is beautiful, Mist. And you don't deserve the crap Mom's putting you through. I'm sorry the other two are being such bitches, saying what they did to the magazines and now with this. Stay strong, Daddy would want you to. I don't think you killed him." With that she hurriedly left, leaving me standing at the door in shock.

"What was that all about?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure" I replied slowly. It was true. I didn't understand how Lily had just bounded up full of apologies and in awe of Andrea when she hadn't spoken a word to my defense when Mom was having a go at me. But it was somewhat comforting. A little. More confusing than anything.

Ash wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my neck, which instantly brought a smile to my face. No matter what, he was there for me. I could always fall back on him in the darkest of times, even if my estranged older sister confused the hell out of me when it came to her loyalties. I knew where Ash's loyalties and priorities lay, right here within his family, and that was something I could hold onto forever.

A/N: Aaaand we're done! Reviews are always nice (like I said before, God, can't stop mentioning the damn word, lol!) and Geo's starting the next chapter now so look out for it. Thanks again guys, AAML forever!


	5. Morning Matinee

DISCLAIMER: Nope, don't own Pokémon. I dunno why I do this for _every_ chapter, force of habit…

A/N: Well okay, that disclaimer was random…well here it is, I don't have a lot to say cos I've got a time limit. This is Geo's chapter and he's also writing the next one, computer probs have kinda seen to it being split into two but that's no biggie. Okay read on read on!

****

Chapter Four - Morning Matinee 

I awoke the next morning with some sort of familiarity engulfing my being, for that previous night I slept like a log, and waking up to the feel of Ash's arms around me can be described as magical at best. For it was a touch I had missed so much through out our 24-hour separation. My eyes groggily opened to the sensation of his lips trailing across the upper part of my neck, and then going on to work their magic within the confines of my right shoulder. I merely shivered at the sensation of it as I turned to face him, laying my arms to rest around his neck as I did so.

"Morning beautiful" he said pulling me closer against him. I smiled up at him as I leaned forward and briefly kissed him.

"Morning" I replied as I parted my lips from his and laid my head to rest on his shoulder. For the next few moments nothing but silence enveloped us as we lay there basking in the radiance and bliss of each other's presence. As I lay there however I would be lying if I said a few things did not enter my mind. The funeral, the whole legal ins and outs of my fathers will reading. But most of all my mind found itself continually reverting back to my sister Lily and whether her intentions were that of a noble nature, or whether there was more to her little visit yesterday afternoon then met the eye. Ash, ever in tune with my emotions, picked up with somewhat ease on my conflicting state of mind at this time and had no hesitations on airing his concerns to me as he pulled me tighter against his body.

"Mist, you ok? You seem tense and somewhat distracted at the moment" he told me, breaking the silence that had ensued around us. I gazed into his eyes, god they had a magnetism beyond words, I tenderly smiled at him then tried to put his mind at ease as only the way I could.

"I'm fine" I finally replied to him as I tenderly stroked his cheek. He cocked an eyebrow at me and grinned.

"You know honey you're a terrible liar" he said with a chuckle as he removed his arms from around my shoulders and placed his hand at the side of his head to lean on it to gaze down upon me.

"Come on, out with it, what's on your mind? Would I be correct in assuming it has something to do with Lily?" he quizzed at me. I could not believe it, he and I were obviously of one mind in everything we did, and these circumstances were of no exception to that concept. I closed my eyes, and with a smile shook my head at him. Lying to him in this point in the proceedings of that I knew, however the simple fact was he had done more for me than anyone deserved within a given lifetime this past year, and I did not want to worry him with my petty negative thoughts, or conflicting emotions at this time.

"I'm fine baby" I assured him. He nodded sceptically.

"Your sure? I know something is going down in that pretty little head of yours" he pointed out. It was as these words left his lips that a thought struck me, and I smiled coyly at him.

"Well you'd be right by thinking that" I said. He smiled and laid back down on his back, putting his hands behind his head for support.

"Well don't keep me in suspense here, what you been thinking?" I grinned seductively as I with cat like reflexes, and as gently as I could straddled on top of him and grasped his shoulders with my hands.

"Just how much I love you" I announced softly as I leaned forward and melted into a gentle silken kiss. Seconds later I parted from him as he brought his arms back around and started rubbing my lower back.

"Wow" he finally stammered out. I scowled playfully at him.

"That's it?" I shook my head. "That won't do" I told him firmly as I started running my hands down his chest.

"What?" he asked in somewhat befuddlement. He soon enough got my message however, as I started tracing my lips in the same direction my hands had undertaken seconds earlier. He shifted somewhat uncomfortably.

"Uh Mist…." I heard him choke out. 

"What's wrong?" I asked in between my lips movements upon his skin.

"I don't think we should" he muttered. Somewhat ironic of him considering he was running his hands through my hair at the time but never the less. I sat up again and tried in vain to put his mind at ease as I had thought I had figured out the reason behind his uncertainty.

"Don't worry" I started, unbuttoning my small nightshirt. "Andie isn't due up for another half an hour" I assured him, as I slid the shirt from my shoulders. It was at this point his facial expression changed, an emotion I found it hard to pick up on and to be honest my patients was wearing thin.

"Stop gocking!!!" I snapped "You've seen me like this before!" I reminded him. It was then a grin emerged on his lips.

"I know I have sweetheart" he paused as he placed his hand under my chin.

"But he hasn't" Ash told me as he focused my head around. And it was when he did this that the most embarrassing moment in my life to date took place. For lying on the couch, not but centimetres away, contently looking on was Brock.

"No, no, don't you guys stop on my account" he told us as a laugh escaped his lips. As soon as the severity of the situation fully registered within my mind, I found myself screaming my lungs out at the Pewter native.

"You perverted bastard!!!" I shrieked as I scrambled across the bed's mass in a bid to cover the upper half of my exposed form. Obtaining this goal but seconds later I directed my gaze to Ash who by this time was in a fit of hysterics.

"Well I've been called worse in my lifetime" Brock said, finally beginning to cease in his laughter while replying to my outburst. "But I'll tell ya what, you two need late night cable" he joked sarcastically. My anger and tempered state reverted from my lover to Brock and back to Ash again in a fit of boiled blood, but as with life, the one I loved ended up bearing the brunt of it.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me he was there!" I snapped bitterly. Ash faltered.

"I tried to baby, but, how should I put this, uh you had your hands full" he mocked as both he and Brock started up the laughter process once more.

"Yeah laugh it up you two!" I muttered bitterly. In reality I don't know what I was so upset about, I mean Brock had been around before during some of Andrea's feedings. I guess as a maturing woman I still had some sense of dignity left, and the thought of anyone but my lover seeing me in that light sort of hit a nerve. However the mere thought of Brock seeing me naked did more than that, in retrospect it brought a smile to my lips in a humorous sense, for Brock would probably forever endear that image of me within his mind and would probably use it as an incentive for masturbating purposes in his loneliest of times, it was as this thought entered my mind I could not help utter the words.

"Oh my god! Ash, he saw me naked!" I pouted. Ash smiled sympathetically as he bent forward and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Relax honey, I'm sure he's seen you worse." Again more teasing but what else could I expect? I was being totally childish about this, technically we were adults now and I should have been able to get past this. I was about to rebuttal Ash's comments when the all too familiar cry of Andrea awaking from her nightly slumber proved to be both her father's and Brock saving grace. I quickly averted my attention from them and rushed up to her small portable crib that Ash had brought with him.

"Shh, I'm here angel" I said soothingly as I picked her up and walked back to the bed and sat down upon it. Her small eyes cast themselves over the room as if knowing all too well she had not woken up within her normal surroundings on this morn. It was at this point Ash leaned forward to bid his daughter a good morning and a smile emerged on her delicate face at seeing us both together. I swear to god, I don't care what anyone says, I was only apart from them for a day, but she knew.

"I think she's hungry" Ash told me tenderly as he arose from the bed. I nodded. I automatically unbuttoned the shirt once again, which I had scrambled back on somehow amongst my earlier protests and proceeded to give Andrea her morning feed. It was as I did this my eyes fell on Brock as Ash had walked up and started carting him away to get ready and I presume to pick up some breakfast for us all.

"Damn, there goes my second showing, too bad, the re-run is always miles better!" I heard him say as Ash took him from my view to give me some privacy for the time being.

"Don't forget to call the airline!" I shouted after them. Brock poked his head back through with a grin. I tell you this was becoming tedious, so much so thoughts of a restraining order came to mind.

"Why?" he asked somewhat distractedly.

"Yo! Breeder boy, my eyes are up here!" He shot his head up and grinned.

"Ok, I'll stop" he told me. I smiled gratefully at him.

  
"So what's that about the airline?" he asked.

"When you guys get a minute can you or Ash give them a call? Got to revert our return tickets to Cerulean" I explained. Brock gazed down on me somewhat confused.

"Uh, sure but I thought you guys were heading home first, no?" I shook my head.

"Nope, funeral is tomorrow" I explained. He nodded. I gazed down at my daughter as I said this, the thought never crossed my mind. I slowly posed the next question.

"Brock?" I said as he turned to leave, probably to catch up with Ash.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. I smiled at him to reassure him the problem was not immanent.

"I...I never thought about what I was going to do with Andie tomorrow, not the kind of environment you want to take a baby to so-" He cut me short.

"No problem Misty, happy to do it" he chipped in, referring to looking after her while I said goodbye to my father for the last time.

"Thanks Brock, you've been a god-sent these last few days, a playful one but a god-sent never the less" I told him. He shot me a grin the way only Brock Slate knew how.

"Would not have it any other way. You have any idea what you want to eat, Ash should be about ready by now, and we were going to grab some breakie" he explained.

"Not that hungry at the moment Brock, a coffee and a muffin will do me fine" I assured him as I had finally completed the task of feeding Andrea and was now gushing over her in my arms as I tended to do so in our time alone. Brock nodded and turned to leave when I stopped him yet again by calling his name.

"And Brock?" He held the door as he turned to face me yet again. I got up off the bed held my daughter close to my chest walked up to him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked, almost amazed at my actions.

"I never did thank you" I said. By now he was totally perplexed as to what I meant.

"Thank me for what?" he asked me, still puzzled by my actions.

"For Andie's identity bracelet" I told him softly. He smiled warmly at me.

"Anytime sweetheart, she's gorgeous and everybody deserves to know who she is, and the kind of love that was bounded by fate to get her hear." His statement brought tears to my eyes. I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

"Thanks Brock" I whimpered. He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Anytime honey, I'll be back soon" And with that he left the room, as I was left with my thoughts of the days to come.

***

The rest of that day went by without a hitch, breakfast was simple but nice, and Brock had no trouble on redirecting our flights to Cerulean. And thus after a 2-hour flight, we had arrived in the city of my birth, my first return there since the days of the court hearing, and my mothers despicable antics. Ash had booked us into a hotel, just on the outskirts of the town I grew up in, which was handy in itself, as the crematorium was only a 10 minute drive from out there also. The hotel was nothing fancy, but it would do for temporay accommodation, the room was a little smaller then our previous one, but had two bedrooms thank god. Cramped of that I knew, but it would only be for two nights at best. And as I nestled myself against Ash that night in a bid to find refuge in sleep, I realised tomorrow would test how far I've come in a number of ways, physically, emotionally, and as a person on a whole. One day I would have to explain to Andrea the concept of death, the fact that mom and dad were going to leave her alone one day, and in truth it scared the hell out of me. But it came with the territory in this game we call life, and tomorrow would go a long way to see how I would cope with the ins and outs of it.

A/N: Alrighty, I'm in such a flap right now, eek, look out for the next one soon and until then thanks for the reviews and kind words and all that. AAML forever! Woo!


	6. Banter Before Bereavement

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokémon. I'm getting kinda bored of saying this...

A/N: Well who said anything about being on hiatus?! Geo has written a chapter and he's gonna write the next one too so woohoo, we're back into it! Sorry about the delays and all, busy busy and computers crashing and so on and so on...I'll stop making excuses. Read on and enjoy!

**Chapter 5 - Banter Before Bereavement**

The unmistakable sound of thunder and water ravaging the hotel room windows rapidly played through out my senses, for yes, it was now morning, and yes as you have guessed it was raining on this morn. What a fitting set of circumstances to coincide with the events about to take place huh? As I sat at the mirror sorting my hair, I saw Ash stir lightly through it as he sat up in bed.

"Mist?" he said sleepily, wiping his eyes as he stole a glance at the clock. I did not reply to him, just continued to fondle my hair as I continually glanced myself over in the mirror.

"Misty" Ash started with a concerned sigh as he arose from the bed and walked up behind me, laying his hands to rest on my shoulders as he approached. I just hoped to god above he could not see my tears as I sat there. He did not deserve to go through the rigmarole of seeing me in discomfort like this, not him, for in reality he was all keeping me going through this. Well, not that Andie and Brock's antics did not help, however Ash was the backbone of it all if you like, the catalyst that started every shred of comfort I had within life at this moment in the proceedings. However the fates did not yield or hinder my earlier plea, as Ash instantly noticed my distress, as I suspect the shaking of my shoulders was the attribute that gave it away.

"Honey? Come on, you know I hate to see you like this" he choked out as he moved the chair around to face him as he got onto his knees before me. The pain in his tone, god I can't shake this overwhelming feeling of guilt. I hate to see him upset, I really do, it's just...a delicate thumb tracing across my lips cut my pondering state short, as my eyes opened to be confronted by that wonderful smile, that smile I knew was especially for me. I could do nothing but respond to it in tow, as I was rather abruptly picked up from my chair and pulled against him, laying my hands to rest around his neck upon impact.

"What are you doing up so early?" he asked tenderly, finally mouthing something besides my name, or a name of endearment in concern for the first time that morning.

"Would you be able to sleep to a decent hour on such a day?" I retorted back with somewhat haste and bitterness in my tone. The look of shock and the undertone of sadness within his eyes told me that was not the best answer to give at this time. I sighed as I laid my head to rest upon his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I should not be taking this out on you." He nodded as if knowing my words were nothing but the truth.

"Hey look, you have every reason to be edgy on today of all days" he started. He pulled away from me and gazed into my eyes.

"Besides, even if you had a shot gun at my head at the moment I would never stop loving you despite your mood. So knowing I can handle that I think I can handle this" he explained. I merely smiled gratefully at him. He could understand the reasons behind my attitude and I was also slightly eased that he was as wonderful as he was when it came to listening to my inner emotions. I tenderly ran my hand down his jaw line.

"God, what did I do to deserve you?" I asked him, almost choking up as I said it. He grinned at me, briefly kissed me and began making his way to the bathroom.

"That one's easy honey" he told me as he opened the room door. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh yeah, care to enlighten me?" I asked. He turned to me with a grin.

"Simple, you went fishing, and well had adequate bait" he explained.

"Bait?" I laughed at the metaphor he used.

"Well, care to elaborate on that?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow. He stopped short at the bathroom's entrance.

"Say what?" He asked, turning round to face me. I coyly walked up to him.

"Come on, what was it? What was the one thing that stuck out that first time you saw me? The thing that told you I was the one, the thing that told you, you would need nothing else" I quizzed. And let me tell you for something that started out as a small joke, I was really rather intrigued as to what his answer would be

"Uh, Mist, it's going to sound kind of dumb" he replied, averting his eyes to the ground to avoid my gaze. I tilted his chin so he would lock eyes with me once more.

"Ash, please tell me?" I whispered. He stared at me intently a moment, as if seeking out reassurances within my eyes, that once he revealed to me his answer I would not obliterate him from the face of the earth.

"You...you really want to know?" he asked me, tracing my nose with his index finger. I nodded.

"Alright." A moment's silence, and then as he reverted his eyes from me I heard two words escape his mouth in just an audible whisper.

"Your hair." I blinked in disbelief.

"Whaaa?" I spluttered out. I was in all honesty speechless, that was not what I was expecting. Slowly and as composed as I could I put forth the obvious question.

"Why my hair Ash?" I asked softly. He gazed at me a moment, a gaze that showed nothing but insecurity.

"Uh, Mist its kind of hard to explain" he admitted.

"Try me" I challenged with a smile. He rubbed his temple with a sigh a moment as I awaited him to go on.

"I don't know why your hair Misty, it just stuck out the most to me, I guess in a sense it reminded me of my overall personality back then, for even though overall I didn't have a clue at times, your hair reminded me a lot of myself. Wild, unpredictable, fiery, and timid." He paused and eyed me a moment.

"But as the days, weeks, months and eventually years went by, I was able to see past the hair, I was able to see past the tomboyish hot headed persona that you yourself endeared to me." He stopped and took my hands in his. I was in all honesty hanging on his every word he said at this moment in time, because in reality they were 100 accurate.

"I was able to see past all those barriers, and even survive a brief time apart from you and it was because of my ability to do these things that I obtained the thing I have today." He explained. I swallowed hard, not for the first time that morning on the verge of tears, even if the reason behind my emotions was somewhat different this time around.

"And what is it you think you have today, Ash? What has evolved from the tomboyish girl with the unpredictable hair?" In a sense I already knew his answer, or at least I thought I did. I was expecting the girl I love or something along those lines, but the answer I got stunned even me. I think in reality what he said stunned even himself, but hell in his eyes, he was making me happy, getting my mind off of the events to come. Of what was his reply, you ask? Simply this.

"What I have today is something you can only hope to find within a given lifetime, what I have today is the mother of my daughter, the key to my heart, the girl of my dreams." He stopped and took me by the waist.

"What I have today is you" he mouthed softly as he dissented his lips on mine once more. I was in a dream world at this time; his words touched me in regions of my soul I never knew existed, but as with my so-called dream world and dreams themselves, it had to end and end it did as Brock entered into our room. He sighed in a playful manner at us, thus breaking our lip lock.

"Oh for god's sake you two! I tell ya, I'd be better off staying in a bloody rabbit hutch!" Ash, rather pissed off to put it lightly, pulled away from me and grinned.

"Oh Brocko! Come on man, you know rabbits can't hold a candle to my voluptuous redhead and myself." Upon hearing these words leave his mouth I burst out laughing as Brock scowled at us both.

"You two are sick in the head, you know that?" he teased. I smirked at him as I stole a glance at Ash.

"So sue us!" I quipped. Brock smiled at me.

"Yes, I can almost picture it already, Andrea's autobiography in stores, with a title that will do nothing but shock the world" he explained. Ash just let out a laugh as I grew curious.

"Oh Really Brock? So what's this so-called title of my darling daughter's book then?" he smirked.

"The Sexual Compulsive years by Andrea Ketchum" he mocked. Ash burst out laughing. I on the other hand just stood there, part of me knew I should have played along but something stopped me. Was Brock's attempt at humour a foresight of what was to come? If Ash and I were not careful was that the light our little girl would see us in? Brock immediately picked up on what I was thinking and tried his hardest to put my mind at ease.

"Mist get that thought out of your head right now! You and Ash do all you can for that girl to the best of your abilities despite the circumstances. As long as you continue to give her the love and support you have given her thus far, nothing else is needed" he told me. I sighed, his words did go a long way to settle this uneasy feeling I had.

"Thanks Brock." He nodded as Ash spoke up.

"Speaking of my princess any sound from her on your way in Brocko?" he asked him. Brock shook his head, indicating no.

"Nah man, dead to the world not a peep" Brock told him. Ash thought for a moment.

"Hmm I think I will go check on her" Ash said out loud. I nodded.

"Honey if she does not waken, let her sleep" I called to him as he walked past Brock to the door. He sighed.

"Yes, yes, anything else my fair lady?" I smiled.

"I love you" I told him tenderly. He nodded at me, turned and left the room. Brock sighed.

"You know by the time I go home I am going to need some major therapy" he mocked. I smiled at him.

"Well hun, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen" I retorted.

"Aren't we a barrel of laughs this morning, all things considered." I fell silent, realising what he had meant by that comment. Brock realised his mistake instantly and wasted no time in approaching me and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Honey I'm sorry I was out of line there, I -" I cut him short.

"No Brock, it's alright, no sense in holding off the inevitable" I told him. He smiled at me, and then reverted the conversation to a whole new level.

"Listen Mist, now I got you alone for a moment I have a proposition for ya" he told me. I blinked. I realised his hand had not left my shoulder and I smirked.

"Oh Brock I'm flattered but...." He raised an eyebrow.

"But?" I had too composed myself as I said my next sentence.

"A one woman man's all I wanna be and there's only one perfect guy for me" I spluttered as I burst out laughing in front of him. His face drained of all colour at the memory.

"Fucking hell! I knew one day one of you two would throw that back in my face!" he teased as he began to laugh along with me. It took as a few seconds to regain our composure and when we finally did Brock's attitude turned more serious.

"Misty all jokes aside, that proposal I was on about." I nodded.

"Yeah I'm sorry, please go on Brock" I told him.

"Look I have this mate of mine who's involved in the stock market, and Ash has filled me in on your mothers antics and, well." He paused and looked at me.

"He recently got a tip for some stock that can't fail. What I am saying is, if you could make a contribution I could double maybe even triple it within the next two to three days." I gazed at him a moment unsure.

"Brock isn't that a risky game?"

"Normally it is Mist, but like I said he can't lose, guaranteed." I thought for a moment.

"I appreciate the thought Brock, but the only spare money I have on me is next month's rent" I explained.

"Misty, you guys are like family to me, all I want to do is help you in every way I can so here's what I'm going to do. Give me what you have got, and if the stock fails, I'll pay your rent for you, in fact I'll pay the next two months in advance" he explained. I blinked in shock. He would do that for us? I sighed.

"Brock I could not ask that of you -" He interrupted me.

"I insist, either way it gives you guys some breathing space financially for a few months" he explained. In a way his offer did make sense, and considering all he had done for us thus far how could I refuse? I smiled at him as I pleased a small kiss on his cheek.

"You're a good friend Brock Slate, you know that?" He grinned at me.

"I try." And so yeah, I gave him the money, and with that he went off to do whatever it is he had to before we left for the crematorium. I dunno, I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I realised life is too short to always live by the book, at times you have to roll the dice and take a gamble to see what happens, and although there was no risk involved whatever the outcome thanks to Brock generosity, a part of me hoped that his friend's information was accurate. Ash and I needed some good fortune in our lives right now. At that thought I sighed. It was almost time, time to face my mother, to confront my sisters, and to say goodbye to my father for the last time. Could I really do it? Could I get through such a morbid day in my life? That, I knew, was a question that only the concept of time could give the answer to.

A/N: And what can I say? It's one in the morning and we've got a chapter up, go go go! lol, anyways thanks so much for the reviews thus far, we both really appreciate them, and I really can't type much more without my burnt hands dying on me. So look out for the next one, it'll be up here ASAP, and AAML forever! Yay!


	7. Funeral & Frustration

DISCLAIMER: Why do I still bother with these? We don't own Pokemon. How would we get the power to do that?  
  
A/N: Okay okay, stop pelting the tomatoes already! I KNOW it's been nearly a year since we updated this and for that we are incredibly sorry. It's gotten hard, I've been without a computer and for the most part I talk to Grocko maybe once a month, whereas before it was once a day, lol. So please forgive us, we honestly appreciate and thrive on the support you guys have given us. I've received dozens of emails asking for an update and I'm so so sorry it's taken this long. But hopefully you'll agree it was worth it! Read on and enjoy!

**Chapter 6 – Funeral & Frustration**  
  
"It's a long hard road to the promised land, when you fear in your heart what you don't understand."  
  
--Eric "Brock" Stuart--"A Bad Seed To Sow."

The car pulled up outside the huge building, just before 10 am that morning. The short ten minute drive was done so in silence. Brock ever keeping his eyes on the road, Andrea asleep in the back seat, with myself blankly staring out the window in my own little world watching the deserted streets go by. Ash for his part respected that I needed this time for reflection and didn't utter a word, surprising as it sounds. He just kept his hand on my knee throughout the drive, assuring me he was there when I needed him.  
  
The whole concept of time seem to elapse too quickly for my likening as before I knew it I had found both Ash and myself standing to the entrance of the huge building with our goodbyes to Brock being uttered not but seconds earlier, as he had quickly departed, thus taking Andrea away from this place, this place of sorrow and despair.  
  
For what seemed like an eternity I just stood there blankly staring into nothingness, amply followed by the choking back of an inhaled sob, trying desperately to maintain my composure in a bid to brace myself for what was to come. I stole a glance around me to find Ash intently staring at me worriedly, his arms folded, not sure how or what to say to aid me through my inner turmoil at this time. He seemed to stall a moment before finally speaking up.  
  
"Misty..." he mouthed softly. I cast my eyes upon him before reverting them back to the building, and then simply uttered two simple words.  
  
"Hold me" I whimpered softly, to which in response he once more seemed to be rooted to the spot, somewhat scared and uneasy about doing or saying the wrong thing within this moment. He hastily approached me, wrapping me in his arms. I buried my head into his chest as I stood there trying to take some shred of comfort to his kind words and gentle touch.

"I realize this will be nothing but a cliche to you at this time honey, but the pain you're feeling will pass in time...it will pass in time..."he whispered softly as I merely stood there letting the rain cascade upon me while trying to take what shred of comfort of which I could from the one I loved.

Once we had mustered the mental resolve to enter the building we were shocked to discover that the services were running somewhat late on this morn, and due to the constricting time span of the whole process, of which you could tell right away my mother had flung together on the cheap, we found ourselves taking part in the wake / keegar whatever others call it before the actual service in the reception of the building's main hall.  
  
You could cut the tension with a knife. Numerous strangers and bickering family members assembled in a huge hall brought together for a purpose no one wanted to be there for. I for my part was a nervous wreck. I kept looking towards my sisters awaiting a cold glare, or some sort of sarcastic look as my mother seemed to ignore my presence completely, engrossed in conversations and taking in sympathy from anyone who was everyone who would give it to her  
  
"My God! How much longer are they going to make us wait, acting out this bloody charade!" I blurted out bitterly as Ash approached me with a plate of food.  
  
"Misty, calm down will you? No one has said anything to you. Besides, you can't exactly speed along other peoples bereavement." I sighed as I took the plate from him. He was right, I was being totally narrow minded here. I was not the only person within the community suffering on this day.  
  
"You're right Ash, I'm sorry..." He sighed as he grasped me by the shoulders and focused my head to face him.  
  
"Look, I know this is hard for you but you've got to be strong.....you have the chance to do something here I never had - to say goodbye. I think your father would have wanted you to with a clear conscience, don't you? Whatever anger you're feeling, whatever hostility you experience Mist, please for God's sake let it go."  
  
I gazed into his eyes wondering if he had lost his mind. He was basically asking me to accomplish an impossible task. How could he even stand there and ask that of me?  
  
"Ash Ketchum, I love you and you mean the world to me, but that's it, no more coffee in the mornings for you" I quipped in response as he merely proceeded to glare at me with a bemused stare.  
  
"Misty! I'm serious here" he warned as I placed the plate down on a near by table and folded my arms in befuddlement.

"You've got to be kidding me here!" I said, trying hard to keep my vocal base at a steady level. He went to say something but I hastily cut him short, as my anger seemed to boil over.

"You expect me to plaster a smile on my face and totally forget everything those people have done to me....done to us?" I stammered as he rubbed his hands down his face  
  
"Will you settle down? I wasn't implying that -" I cut him short yet again, for I just felt as if he had unearthed a buried rage that I had been trying so desperately to suppress for all this time.

"The hell you weren't!" I spat out bitterly. He grasped my arms as I went to move away from him.  
  
"Misty will you just hear me out for a second!" he advised as I focused my gaze back upon him.  
  
"Mist if life has taught me anything..." I smirked playfully as he cut himself short. "Yeah I know at times I ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer but just listen a sec, ok?" I could not help but initiate a sigh of exasperation.  
  
"Ash, in case you haven't noticed I am at my father's funeral here so could we move this along please?" I asked as he nodded and let go of my arms.  
  
"Alright, what I am trying to say here Mist is...no matter what indiscretions they might bestow upon you, no matter how much your sisters might snub or mistreat you and no matter how much of a bitch your mother becomes to you.....at the end of the day, especially during a time like this, they are still your family. They are hurting just as much as you are. Their frustration towards you is just their way of coping. Remember Mist, he was the girls' father too. And yeah he was in the proceedings of divorcing your mom but part of him must have loved her and vice versa, cause if that was not the case...then I wouldn't have the girl I love right now." I stood there taking in his words. I never thought within my lifetime I would say this but Ash Ketchum sort of began to make sense!  
  
"Mist please, if they don't do it themselves, don't get mixed up in a war of words today. Your dad wouldn't have wanted it that way" he urged as he placed a hand on my cheek. I choked back an inhaled sob as I moved my arms around his neck.  
  
"Alright. For you...." I whispered as I moved closer to him in a bid to merge my lips with his but he stopped me.  
  
"No! Don't do this for me. Hell, don't even do it for your father. Do it for yourself sweetheart. Prove that you're better than them. Don't raise to it" he told me as I nodded and brushed my lips into contact with his. Our moment of intimacy was rather abruptly interrupted by a third voice.

"Well well, like look who's here and fashionably on time for once!" I heard Violet chime as I whirled around in Ash's arms to be confronted by my three sisters.  
  
"Guys" I acknowledged with a slight nod. "Good to see you don't let your fashion sense go to waste considering the somber occasion" I commented, referring to the bright dresses they wore despite the fact they were at a funeral.  
  
"Well Misty, we are suppose to be celebrating dad's life today...and black is such a depressing color" Daisy commented in a tone which I could not help detect had some sarcasm based within it.  
  
"Fair comment" I finally responded, resigning to the fact I had no come back for that last statement. I let go of Ash as Violet scanned her surroundings a second.  
  
"So! Where's the kid?" I took a step forward a moment, wanting to basically wipe the floor with her for that comment, but Ash placed a hand on my shoulder. I cast my eyes at him and seeing a slight shake of the head, I merely cleared my throat and softly spoke.  
  
"Her name is Andrea, and to answer your question Brock's looking after her this morning" I informed her as she merely nodded to my words. Lily for her part was being awful quiet, for I detect she was still wrestling with where her loyalties truly lied. I re-focused my gaze on Violet as she had spotted the table I had laid my plate of food upon. For unbeknownst to me I had placed it upon a table with numerous other plate where located. Little did I know my sister would be underhanded enough to use this as a catalyst to a provincial war of words.  
  
"Say, that food yours?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the table. Not knowing any better I just shrugged and nodded my head. Little did I know that was my first mistake.  
  
"Geez! Little sis! What's up with your appetite lately?" Violet commented, to which Daisy suddenly exclaimed a theory of her own.  
  
"Like, my God! The Casanova there hasn't knocked you up again has he?" Now I got to say even that one took Ash aback as the phrase of, "Say what!" escaped from the back of his throat. As for me my rage was at an all time high.  
  
"What did you just say!!!" I shouted as another voice was heard.  
  
"Alright that's enough! My God I don't need this today.....and I might have known you were involved!" For the voice that just spoke was my mother and yes, she was referring to myself. She approached and stood between us.  
  
"Now what's the problem here?" she asked, casting her eyes around Ash and the four of us.  
  
"No problem "I commented, folding my arms and taking a few steps back towards Ash.  
  
"Hey Misty, better get you a seat near the rest room, women in your condition and all and with such a long service ahead." My mother whirled around at me, her mouth agape.  
  
"What!! You're pregnant?!" It was then my resolve snapped.  
  
"I'm not pregnant!!!" I roared as even Ash decided to back off on that one.  
  
"Now now sis! Don't have a hissy fit! You wouldn't be the first member of our family showing up at a funeral carrying something other than a heavy heart and a since of bereavement" Daisy mocked as I, to put it bluntly, had had enough. I lunged at her but was held back by Ash. In the process something fell from my pocket to which my mother indicated. She bent down and picked it up.  
  
"What's this?" she asked, picking up what I now recognized as the small photograph I had brought with me.  
  
"That's your granddaughter Mrs. Waterflower" Ash commented as I went to grab it from her but he held me at bay. My mother flipped it over and cast her eyes upon the small picture.  
  
"She's... beautiful..."she muttered, to which I shifted uncomfortably.  
  
"Thanks" I muttered uncertainly. She seemed to take a few seconds to stare at the object within her hands as my sisters leaned in to get a closer look. I even got a squeal from them which was surprising in itself.  
  
"She has your cheekbones" my mother commented, referring to Ash. He smiled gratefully.  
  
"I wonder if she'll have her mothers zealous for life when she grows up" my mother observed as Ash seemed to be confused at what she meant.  
  
"And that means?"  
  
"Oh you know....go out, sleep around, have under age sex..." That was all I heard as after the phrase "sleep around" I had lunged forward and proceeded to swing my hand in an air swift motion and as she finished her words my hand came into contact with her face.  
  
"You bitch!!! Just when I think there might be a remote chance you're being Goddamn sincere!! I...." That was all I got out as Ash had picked me up on his shoulders and started making his way out of the room.  
  
"Alright, won't be long! Misty and myself are just popping out side to grab some air...maybe retrieve her sanity while we're at it!" he shouted. He walked outside as I repeatedly pounded on his shoulders.  
  
"Ash for God's sake put me down!" I hissed.  
  
"Not until you promise not to kill your mother!" he mused as he had arrived within the hallway.  
  
"Dammit! Alright" I conceded as he put me down to face him  
  
"It's just she makes it so Goddamn difficult! Did you hear the thing she said?"  
  
He nodded. "I ain't deaf Misty" he informed me. "But the fact is you went back on your word of earlier already" he told me. My mouth gaped open.  
  
"What!! You expect me to stand there and let them slander my little girl! Forget it!"

"Misty, don't you see what they've done? They plop the biggest piece of bait in front of you and you've bitten like a starving piranha!" I glared at him. "I can't believe you're turning on me over this!" I shouted.  
  
"I am not turning on you, Misty! For God's sake, this town already has a screwed up picture of you! Do you think what's just transpired in there helps your case? If nothing it gives validation to whatever they might have said about you."  
  
I knew I should have listened to him.. I knew some of what he was saying did make perfect sense. But I just couldn't bring myself to do so, I just couldn't trust his word. My blood was at a boil and instead of throwing my arms around him and taking what comfort from him I could, I found myself doing the one thing I least expected.  
  
"When you're ready to stand up for your daughter as am I, then come back and we'll talk." And with that I left him in the hallway with his thoughts.

The rest of the service went by unexpectedly with no more glitches. We all got to say goodbye the way it should be done, but my sense of betrayal by Ash somewhat spoiled the occasion. I sat alongside him throughout but did not dare utter a word to him. I just could not comprehend how he could see another's point of view against that of his daughter's.  
  
Even Brock seemed mystified when we got back to the hotel as to why I was so pissed at him. I merely barged through the door, walked into our bedroom and threw some pillows outside within the lounge. Finding no way to make sense of it all I found I had cried myself to sleep. In the distance I could hear Ash explaining to Brock the bare bones of what happened.  
  
Several hours must have passed me by in disruptive slumber as the bedroom door slowly opened. Keeping my eyes closed I felt a hand slip down my cheek, softly wiping the tear infested droplets that remained. It moved away and I sternly reached out and softly spoke.  
  
"How in the hell do you put up with me? Even when I'm a total bitch to you?" I asked, opening my eyes and casting them upon Ash.  
  
"That's my job" he muttered, sitting down to face me to which I nodded with a grin. He sighed. "Mist, you know I was right today. You've lost this one sweetheart" he informed me with a sly grin.  
  
"I know baby. It's just going to take a little time to get down from this particular high horse...I just can't stand anyone saying anything like that about her" I told him, referring to our daughter. "She ok?" I asked as he lay down beside me and wrapped me in his arms.  
  
"She's fine, had a feed from the bottle about an hour ago and is out like a light" he assured

me. I smiled to myself as I leaned tighter into his embrace.  
  
"I love you...." I whispered sleepily. He kissed my neck with a sigh.  
  
"Yeah I know" he muttered exhaustedly as I felt his grip on me loosen. I turned to see he had withdrawn into the land of slumber. I snuggled close against him as I pondered over the days events, for the circle was now complete if you like, my father could now rest in peace. While our lives though still had many bumps along the way, I knew all obstacles were for another day. For sleep was all I desired a clear conscious of body sprit and mind.  
  
A/N: Well! Are you all happy now?! LOL, I am too, I can't wait to start writing my part, even though I don't have a computer or a clear-cut image of how this is gonna go. But I'll do my best. I'm not setting any deadlines for this story, as I said it has become increasingly difficult to write stuff without a computer and I am doing this at work so you may next hear that I am unemployed for breaching internet rules, lol. Nonetheless, we are hoping to not be so slack in the future. Once again thanks oh so much for the kind words, look out for the next installment ASAP!!  
  
P.S. For some odd reason the paragraphing went screwy. Hope you can all bear it out!


	8. A Gut Wrenching Proposal

DISCLAIMER: Should I even bother with this? We don't own Pokémon.

A/N: It's finally here! I managed to finish it! And I can promise you all that the updates are going to be MUCH more regular – me and my partner went out on the weekend and chucked a computer on our credit card so at last I have one I can use whenever I want! Anyways sit back and enjoy, hope it's been worth the wait!

**Chapter Seven – A Gut Wrenching Proposal**

I don't know how I managed to wake up the next morning - my eyelids had felt like bricks when I'd gone to bed. It was a humid Cerulean day, the sun glaring through the smallest of partings in the hotel's curtains. I groaned and sat up. I had a horrible feeling something awful had happened yesterday but my mind was a hazy fog of jumbled memories...

Then it all came rushing back in a flood. The funeral. My sisters. "Sleep around, have underage sex..."

My fists involuntarily clenched around the sheets at the recollection of my mother's words. How _dare _she. How could she stand there and insult her own granddaughter, let alone her daughter who was standing in front of her?

Ash and Andrea must have already been up. I could hear the gentle hum of a television and Ash's voice, although by the pauses and getting no response from Brock I could assume he was on the phone, most likely to Delia.

"Yeah...no she's fine, all things considered...honestly, we're okay, just looking forward to coming home...our flight arrives at two..."

Yes, we were leaving that very day. There was no point in any of us staying and it did become expensive staying at hotels after a while.

I slid out of bed and padded my way into the lounge. Brock was sitting on the couch holding Andrea, who was absolutely enthralled with grabbing his face, most particularly his nose.

"Oh sweetie, that hurts Uncle Brocko" I softly chided, although judging by Brock's laughter I could tell he didn't really mind. He rarely did. God he would make a great father if he ever learnt to settle down.

"Hey it's alright Mist, been a while since I've felt the sometimes painful female touch" he grinned. I swatted his arm, watching his grin widen. "I knew that was where you got your strength, Andie. When Mommy's angry she can be a touch wee bi -"

"Okay okay, no cursing in front of the kid" I interrupted as I took her off him, and then immediately cringed at my words. They were what Violet had used to describe her niece. The kid. The home wrecker. The thing that had destroyed everyone's lives...

Brock caught on to my tension and raised an eyebrow. "Hey Mist, everything okay? Ash told me you had a run in with your family yesterday."

"Had to be inevitable, didn't it?" I sighed. Andrea started whimpering and I started her morning feed before I continued talking. "Brock, do you think I...that maybe I should've gone through with the adoption?"

"What! Mist are you crazy?!" he cried out.

"Well maybe our lives would be easier if I did. I know Ash finds her a burden after his lack of defense towards her yesterday" I bitterly spat out, recalling his silence at the harsh words he had clearly heard.

"Now hold up a sec, he told me about that. Sounds like you might be overreacting a fraction."

"I'm not! He didn't utter one protest when those cows decided to have a go at her! Not one word!" I said loudly.

"Is that anything in comparison to the nights he gets up to her, the mornings he plays with her and the hours when he just sits and watches her with pure love and pride?" Brock responded. I fell silent at his points and he sighed. "Look Misty, Andrea's a handful, no doubt about it. All babies are. And yes, your lives may have been easier if you'd given her up. But would they be happier? Would you and Ash ever feel complete knowing your child was in the hands of a stranger?"

"This was all stuff I asked before she was born" I said softly.

"Yeah, and who was the one who changed your mind? It was Ash" Brock replied to his own question. "So you can't tell me he regrets keeping her or thinks she's a burden."

I smiled gratefully at my best friend. He always knew what to say, he always nutted out a situation until it was rectified.

"Thanks Brock."

"What's all this gratitude for?" Ash had walked into the lounge, his call to his mother over.

"Just me doing my best shrink impression" Brock shrugged. "Your lady here thought you might've regretted keeping Andrea." Ash sighed at the words and sat next to me, stroking Andrea's hair as he did.

"Misty, if this has got anything to do with yesterday -"

"It's okay, I know" I smiled. Andrea slowly finished her feed, falling asleep in my arms as per usual. As I stared down at her guilty thoughts scrambled my mind. How could I even consider giving her up? Then an awful thought struck me - _Yeah, you only think that cos she's asleep, not screaming her head off._

Oh my God. I hardly deserved to live with thoughts like that. And like the punishment I knew I deserved, a huge wave of nausea gripped me, rocked me so hard I had to clutch to Ash for fear of being knocked over by it.

"Woah Mist, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. As quickly as it had appeared, it faded away and I looked at him in shock. A dull throbbing was resounding in my lower stomach but I immediately put it down to my time of the month. With an impatient groan I nodded.

"Stupid bloody system" I muttered. I noticed Brock and Ash shooting each other strange looks but I suppose on account of not being particularly interested in female body matters, they kept their mouths shut.

"I'll start packing Andrea's things if you like hun" Ash said softly. I nodded with a brief smile as he kissed the top of my head. My stomach was still sore but I hardly had time to think about that now. We had to pack, clean up the hotel (which was scattered with various baby toys, equipment and clothes) check out and leave this damned place for the rest of our lives.

Oh Daddy. I'm so sorry you have to be here forever. Here with the person you tried to escape.

Tears welled in my eyes as I lay Andrea down in her crib, noticing the small distinct features she had of my father. Her rounded chin, so different to both mine and Ash's sharp ones. The makings of a distinguished but dainty nose. A smile so infectious it lit up the world.

Well, all except...

"Misty! I think you better get out here!" I heard Brock yell. Something was wrong. There was a subtle urgency in his tone, like he wasn't trying to scare me while letting me know it was imperative I was there. I frowned and, after one final glance at Andrea, hurried out to the lounge. I could hear Ash in the shower - so much for packing Andrea's things - but what stopped me was the look in Brock's eyes. It frightened me like nothing had before.

"Brock, what's..."

"Someone's here to see you."

It was all he needed to say. I knew who it was without having to guess. I could literally feel the blood from my face rushing downward, forcing my heart to pump faster with this sudden stress. My brain went into overload, running through the reasons for this.

_What was she doing here?_

I nodded and thanked Brock before striding up to the door. A sudden confidence filled me at the thought of facing my mother again. I knew I could handle it. I had before.

Opening the door I started with "What do you want?"

Her face held no expression. In fact for someone supposedly in mourning she didn't look particularly grief stricken. But what could I expect? Her heart was for no other than herself.

"I've come to talk things through with you."

"Are you mad?!" I cried out. "There is _nothing_ to talk about. You get your money, I lose a father and the blame gets shifted on me and my daughter. Sorry Mom but I'm absolutely sick to death of running through the same old crap with you."

"Misty, please let me in. I have something to tell you that may interest you" she said quietly. My God, she almost sounded pleasant! As if I was going to fall for that.

"Just leave us alone, Mom. You've done enough damage to last us a lifetime" I said bitterly. She sighed and looked me square in the eyes.

"I have a proposition for you concerning your inheritance."

That made me sit up. True, I shouldn't let money rule my head, but with Ash's nest egg from his league days inevitably running out and the enormous expense involved with looking after Andrea, my ears couldn't help but prick up. That and the fact it was one of the only links left to my father.

"I suppose you better come in" I mumbled. She swiftly walked past me and sat down without an invitation to do so. Damn her. I would've made her stand. "So come on, get it over with, we have a flight to catch today" I said stiffly. There was no room for pleasantries here.

"As I said, I have a proposition for you. It wouldn't concern much on your part...in fact you may find it quite a burden off your shoulders" she started. I raised an eyebrow. There had to be a trap here. My mother was on the verge of being nice to me.

"Well...?" I said after a silence.

"I've decided you can keep the inheritance in your name" she said quietly. My eyes grew wide at my initial hope. But of course, it was only initial. "However..."

Shit. Should've seen that word coming.

"There is a condition you'll have to abide to in order to keep it." She paused for dramatic effect and I panicked at the possibilities. Although she had said it could be a burden off my shoulders I still couldn't trust her.

"And that condition is...?" I stammered slightly on my words. God we needed this money. I couldn't deny it much longer. Andrea would be in school in less than five years and if the money all went to Mom we probably wouldn't be able to afford a uniform for her by then.

"You'll have to move back here with us and leave Andrea with Ash in Pallet Town."

Now to be honest, I didn't do the whole "OH MY GOD" shocked performance. I didn't choke on my own saliva, nor did I start shaking or screaming obscenities at her. My heart did a series of flip flops and my breathing got very rapid - so rapid I thought I would faint - but apart from that my external appearance deceived her of my amazement.

It was one of the rare times she had actually called Ash by name, instead of "that boy" or "evil spawn" (well, she hadn't gone that far yet). And it was the one sentence I did not want to hear her say his name. Leave him? And Andrea too? Who did she think I was?

My mind traveled back to the words I had thought only minutes before, where I had wondered if I deserved to keep her. Maybe this was my second opportunity to give Andrea up. My punishment for thinking she was only good if she wasn't screaming or being imperfect. It had been a brief thought but these were the consequences.

"You're thinking it through, aren't you?" my mother asked with a devious smile after a long silence. I slowly raised my eyes to take in her proud form. She thought she had won me over. She thought that after all I had been through for my daughter I'd come running back to her at the whiff of a few green notes.

She thought wrong.

"Get out mother. And don't contact me again. For my good and your own" I said icily. She sighed and stood up, shaking her head as she did so.

"I've given you a perfect opportunity, Misty. All that money, not having to look after a difficult child, not running around after a spoilt former league champion...and you've given it up."

"Get out!" I yelled. I didn't want to hear anymore. It was only making me angrier. "Get out you goddamn bitch!" She only casually shrugged before showing herself out, leaving me standing there with ragged breaths expelling through my mouth. My mind was blurring with emotions I had never felt before.

Difficult child? Spoilt? Was she right...

No! I had to yell it at myself. Don't even think about it! She was pure evil, making me even fleetingly consider giving up Ash and Andrea for money. Did she honestly think I was that shallow?

_No _my mind answered. _She just wants to take control of you._

Satisfied with that explanation I turned around and ran straight into Brock, who was standing there with a face almost as pale as mine.

"I'm sorry Mist, I heard...you're not staying here, are you?" he asked meekly.

"Oh God Brock, do you really think I would? Of course I'm not" I said confidently. The whole scene had scared me though. She actually had the power to make me think things I otherwise never would. "Just please...don't let Ash know. He would panic" I added. Brock nodded and that was that. The end of the matter. I'd let it rest and we'd get by without her goddamn money. Either one of us was perfectly capable of working, especially Ash with his Pokemon background. He could tutor, train, research...the possibilities were endless.

"We'll be fine" I muttered to myself. "I'll be fine."

My head pounded as another wail filled the air. Oh Andrea. You're usually such an angel on planes. Why today of all days do you have to incessantly cry and scream...

"Andie, Andie darling... please calm down..." Ash soothed as I slouched in my seat, trying to ignore the angry stares of other passengers. I could almost hear their mutterings.

_How irresponsible...why bring a child so young on such a trip...why have a child so young at all..._

I couldn't help thinking how sick I was of hearing such comments. So what if we were young? We weren't neglecting Andrea or abusing her like other parents much older than us sometimes do. We loved her with all our hearts.

Why can't we prove it? Why?

Brock also stayed huddled in his seat, probably feeling too awkward to suggest anything. I couldn't blame him. He was lucky, he had earphones on but he could probably hear Andrea through those. He stayed quiet, feigning interest in the airline's magazine as I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"Excuse me miss, is there anything we can do to help?" A friendly air hostess was looking down on me and Ash with nothing but pity all over her face. She wouldn't have been much older than me, probably eighteen or nineteen, but look at her. Perfect make up, hair glossy and shining, traveling the world while earning a great salary...

Look at me. Daggy gray track pants, no make up, hair that desperately needed more than a spray of water every morning, traveling only to the supermarket once a week.

For a moment, I envied that air hostess as Ash assured her we were fine. No, we weren't fine. We should be out in the world, doing what she was doing, traveling and meeting new people and wearing nice clothes. Being _young. _Envy is such an ugly emotion, so ugly I turned and glared at Ash.

"Why won't she be quiet?!" I snapped. He reeled and I don't blame him for the shock in his eyes. I had never said anything so awful with such malice.

"Misty, you know it's not her fault...she's just a little baby...she can't -"

"Yes she bloody can!" I took her off him and held her close, the wails right next to my ear contributing to my headache. "Andrea Delia Ketchum, you listen to me...you're upsetting a lot of people on this plane, me included...so be quiet, come on...for chrissakes please be quiet!" I almost yelled.

"Misty!" Ash gasped. He looked at me like I was a stranger, and maybe I was. Ever since my mother's visit that morning I had been edgy, different, noticing the little things both Andrea and Ash did to annoy me. Andrea was not helping by crying her lungs out when everything around her was perfect. She was fed, clothed, warm, burped, clean...what more could she possibly want?

"What, Ash? You enjoy listening to this?" I sniped. I've never seen him so taken aback. Maybe there had been a time when Andrea could do no wrong but now I was starting to realise just how much she could cry. And cry. And scream, and then cry some more.

"Maybe there's something wrong with her. She's been crying louder than she usually does" Ash said worriedly.

"I don't know" I sighed, feeling some of my old self come crawling back. I couldn't stay mad at her, or Ash. Damn my mother for putting stupid thoughts in my head. She almost had me resenting the two most important people in my life. I wouldn't let that happen, I couldn't.

But still. The crying was getting to me.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" I mumbled to our fellow passengers as they disembarked at Pallet. Still she cried. No apology from Andie D. They all continued to scowl at us, so in the end I gave up apologizing. Ash placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a wary smile, reminding me that I was not the only one in on this. Andrea was half him too, and he at least had the courage to face up to that responsibility.

"I love you" I said quietly. It was a random phrase to say at such a time but I think he understood why I said it. He nodded slowly.

"Don't resent her, Mist. She loves you, and you know you love her" he said. I smiled throughout Andrea's consistent tears as we made our way to the arrivals terminal. Brock now tried his usual tricks on her, tickling her under her chin and making faces, but even then the wails didn't die down. He sighed and shrugged at me.

"Sorry Misty. I don't know what could be wrong with her" he said. I smiled at him. He was good for trying, I had to hand him that.

"It's okay Brocko. Let's just get our bags and go home. You'll have to crash on the couch sorry" I told him. He was staying with us a few more days, just to double check everything was alright which I really appreciated. In my grief stricken and confused state, an extra pair of hands wouldn't go astray.

"Ash honey! Over here!"

I grinned at the voice and the frantic pair of arms waving at us. Delia could always be counted upon to be punctual and enthusiastic, even with a screaming baby in her son's arms. We strode up to her and exchanged hugs as she sympathetically took Andrea off a waning Ash.

"Look at you, Lady Ketchum" she said in a reproaching manner to my daughter. I had to giggle. "Not happy to see your grandmother at all? I'm disappointed...but I still love you more than I can say" she grinned, kissing her blotchy tear stained cheek. The cries soothed down for all of five seconds, and I sighed with relief at the silence. But no sooner had we stepped in the car when...

"God no" I groaned. Why wasn't her throat getting sore yet? Teenagers at a Justin Timberlake concert couldn't hold out screaming as long as she could.

"Maybe she doesn't like vehicles today" Ash said with a frown. "She's only really let loose since we got in the car, and when we entered the plane."

I shrugged in reply. Delia was watching Andrea through the rearview mirror as she drove through Pallet to our apartment.

"Ash have you considered..."

"Considered what?" he asked his mother, who had trailed off to observe an intersection.

"Considered that she might have colic? Most babies don't scream that loud unless they're in some sort of pain and colic's probably more common than you think" Delia said wisely.

I glanced at Ash. I'd never even thought of it. But she couldn't...could she? She didn't have any medical problems, she wasn't asthmatic or ran fevers or anything - in fact she'd been one of the healthiest babies I'd heard of.

"You really think it's possible, Mom?" Ash asked as we pulled up in front of the apartment.

"Well I don't know, it's only a suggestion. If you're really worried take her to a doctor. They can always tell" Delia replied.

God it was good to be home. There was our familiar lounge, our kitchen and dining room, our couches...everything exactly as we left it. I smiled in relief. This had our touch, and I was crazy to think I could leave this. This was my life - my somewhat unexpected life, yes, but my life nonetheless. And colic or not, I loved Andrea more and more every day.

Delia left that evening when Andrea finally went down to sleep. She had almost tired herself out just by crying and thanks to a little baby paracetemol she slowly but surely drifted into a slumber. I couldn't be more grateful for the quiet. Brock had made himself quite happy on the couch, TV remote in one hand and a bag of nachos in the other. He'd sleep fine there.

Just when I thought I could get a decent night's sleep, I lay down and felt the same nausea and pains hit my stomach like I had that same morning in the hotel. Ash must have noticed the grimace on my face because he immediately asked if I was alright.

"Just cramps again, you know how it is" I smiled.

"Oh God" Ash groaned. "Monthly woman problems strike again."

I laughed and playfully swatted him. He laughed too before grabbing me in his strong arms and looking down on me with such love and tenderness it could make me cry. His eyes roamed all over me, drinking me in, silently telling me how much he loved each and every inch of me, even when I swore to God I could see cellulite dents appearing on my thighs.

"Perfect" he murmured as he stroked my hair. I blushed at the word. "You're the most perfect woman I could ask for." His hands wandered over my face, my throat...lower. I sighed happily at the familiar but still wonderful sensations he stirred in me. Cramps, colic and one bitch of a mother escaped my mind. I could never leave this. Imperfect though my life sometimes seemed, I loved it. And no amount of money could make me want to leave it.

A/N: Yay! I can't BELIEVE I FINALLY got my ass into gear and wrote this lol. So please leave us your reviews and flames for the time delay are most welcome, I really am so so so so sorry. There won't be anymore from now on! And now I leave it up to my co-writer Grocko to get the next chapter rolling. Cheers guys!


	9. SubConcial Controversy & Closure

A/N Alright! Many apologies for the delay once again! Holidays and work have seen to the lack of postings! My thanks to my amigo Geo for writing this, and we hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer –** Same Old! We Don't Own Pokemon, Nor do we own the song "A Boy In Love With You" by Eric "Brock" Stuart

**Chapter eight –Sub-Concial Controversy & Closure**

I'm not sure what encouraged me from my state of slumber the following morning. in honesty it could have been a number of contributing factors, the fact that Friday signified the start of yet another weekend, The fact that my hearing senses relinquished to the sounds, that cars, lorries and numerous other forms of transportation were engaging in within the urban streets not but a few feet from where I lay. Or was it the fact that, these throbbing stomach pains, although a lot less lackadaisical in their efforts on this morning, were still engulfing me? I hastily shook all of he above theories aside as my eyes fell upon the clock on the small nightstand. 7.45Am

Sighing in both exasperation and a touch of annoyance I slowly reverted my body to face the other side of the bed, and upon seeing what my eyes focussed on I could honestly say, my heart melted on the spot. For I was shocked to discover, that for once instead of an empty space staring back at me, I found Ash contentedly engrossed in a deep sleep. I could not help but muster a smile as I delicately traced his facial features with my hand. Suddenly my expression fell, as I recalled both my mother's proposal, and my decision of yesterday

"That cold hearted, calculating...how dare she!" I muttered to no one in particular as my words filled the silent room. I reverted my eyes back to Ash and merely observed his still form, how could I have ever considered... A notion of guilt at that moment washed over me, as I realised, as much as I despised the woman. She actually had me thinking about doing the unthinkable. I mentally scolded myself as that realisation hit me for I know I was seemingly going over old ground here. But was my mother correct in her assumption? Was there some small part of me. All be it sub-consciously that yearned for some means of escape from a life I could never have envisioned?

No! I mentally screamed as I rubbed my hands down my face while casting my eyes upon Ash for a third time. I knew my life was not perfect, heck find me someone's who's is, but... the thing that was eating away at me the most through out it all, was the fact that I had considered it, some mother, How goddam shallow does that make me appear? How could I even contemplate giving this up? Some of you maybe sitting there saying, not to be to hard on myself, That others would have probably done the same, dependent on their circumstances. All right fine I'll grant you that, but seriously, until you are put in such a position, I guess you would not truly understand the inner turmoil I was embroidered in at this time.

I could feel the tears well up before they even began to fall, for another reason had just hit me as to why I was beating myself up over this, I slumped my head against Ash's chest and gazed up at him through blurred vision, as the true validation of the situation hit home. Here I was totally berating myself, about a decision I thought about making, based upon how it would have affected me. I never stopped to consider how it would affect him... This boy...the father of my daughter. The thing that meant the world to me, Andréa aside. What a selfish, self-absorbed bitch I could be at times

Such thoughts, all this negativity was getting to me so badly, it was almost as if my brain cells, or faculties themselves, were being encased in a glacier of ice, in laymen's terms one hell of a headache. Had long since occurred, overwriting everything replacing the thoughts of yesterday and their "what if consequences", with a painful throbbing sensation that I longed to be rid of. Guess that saying is true, you sit and get over analytical about something then you're dammed for life.

I Don't know maybe it's time I learned to unburden myself a bit more, and share the load, when I had asked Brock yesterday not to reveal to Ash the elements of my mothers offer, I thought I was doing it because I did not want to worry him But now I look back on it, perhaps the reason I did not want him finding out was because I was scared of what he might think of me. For not one to self indulge in my own ego, Ash had me placed atop of this high pedestal if you like, as if in his eyes I could do no wrong. This was crazy, I mean I loved him and I knew he loved me it's just, I wish at times he did not paint such a rosy picture about life, he had to learn to be realistic, the world could be a cruel and twisted place if given half a chance, and I felt at times his love for me clouded his judgment to this fact.

"You're the most perfect woman I could ask for" his words from last night before we consummated our love repeated themselves through my mind. Oh Ash! if you only knew what dark decrypted thoughts entered the breeches of my mind, would you still look at me the way you do? Would you still aspire to hold me the way you do? So many more questions that I was scared to know the answer to surged through me as I ran my hand down his exposed left arm.

The word "Perfect" once again echoed within the boundaries of my brain. How in the hell could anyone possibly compete with such an image? Let alone me. Perfect? What utter fabrication, nothing or no one could ever be such a thing, everyone has their faults even me... I swear sometimes I wonder if I am holding him back, he could have so much more than this hell, he deserves more from life. he has the ability to have done more with his life, instead what has he got to show for his efforts? a beautiful daughter granted, but along with Andrea has come the burden of responsibility at a young age, and all thanks to my inability to control my own urges, At a time when he had recoiled.

This is unreal I don't know why I can't abstain these thoughts, It was almost as if something is missing from my life, But what? The only thing I can say I missed out on was being well a mature adult, traveled the world, been there done that all be it the term world is not exactly accurate but traveled our share both Ash Brock and myself have, had numerous adventures, hell got the t-shirt, fallen in love, done and dusted, and doing so more each and every day I might add. So with that being said, what the hell was my problem? There is no other emotionally charged phrase in the English language than that of the words "I Love You" and Ash said them to me each and every day. I sighed inwardly as I sat up in bed.

Perhaps I am being to rash here in terms of dismissing other possibilities, maybe in reality nothing is missing in my life, maybe something else is scarring me, a fear of the fact I have now committed my life to this, a fear of not knowing what obstacles lay around the corner, a fear, that when it is all said and done...I don't measure up to the aspirations, and heights that Ash persists to see in me. I back peddled a moment, within my mind, was that what this was all about? Myself feeling he deserved better than me? My pondering state was rather abruptly cut short as my vision came into contact with a medium sized book adjacent to me atop of Ash's nightstand on his side of the bed.

I upon impulse I feel razed a questioning eyebrow, I never envisioned Ash to be much of a" Bedtime Reader". That theory soon evaporated however, when I got a closer look, for instead of a book of related fiction or fables, I was stunned to discover that of a Journal! What the? I never knew Ash kept a log of things like that, I smirked to myself with a grin, looks like my lover had some secrets of his own. I leaned forward genteelly as not to wake him up and brought the object in question over as I held it within my grasp. I proceeded to trace the cover of the book in my hands with my right hand as I cautiously stole a glance down at Ash worriedly. Dare I? Everyone deserved their privacy Ash included. Finding my curiosity overpowering my senses I flipped the book open to the first entry and observed the date,

**Ash's Journal**

April 15th.

I became a father today, Words can't express this overwhelming feeling that is engulfing me at this time. My Daughter, Andréa Delia Ketchum by name Is nothing short of a miracle, gorgeous in every way and refines the same beauty and radiance than that of her mother. Misty. I can't help but let loose a smile as I write her name, I have never seen her so genuinely happy nor more content within her life. And her persona must be deemed that of infectious, because her demeanour is nothing short of a duplication to that of my own.

I stopped reading and cast my eyes almost astoundingly down at Ash. Once the somewhat playful notion of how the hell he had obtained so many big words and phrases within is vocabulary had sub-sided, I instantly realized he had done something more, I couldn't get my head around it, He had been keeping this since Andréa's birth? I could not help but choke back the lump in my throat that had just without warning formed, the sentimental value of his actions were priceless. But that not withstanding. he had also brought something to the forefront of my recollections, For within that Brief paragraph of scribbled down words and thoughts, he had reminded me just how joyfully happy I was not but four and a half months prior to this moment. It could be like that again couldn't it?

I reverted my eyes from the book in my hand and traced a hand across his cheek as I could not help but let loose a smile of satisfaction, even when he sleeps he had the capabilities of making things better. I skipped through the pages of the Journal looking for some indications of his last written entry, Finding a small pen holding two pages together with it's clip on facility, I removed it and realised I had found what I was looking for.

I observed the date once more before even glancing at the writing and almost choked on my own saliva when I noted that his last entry was...today!... or more accurately, this morning's early hours, not long after we'd...I blushed at the memory as I took one last look at Ash to make sure he was still asleep. Seeing that he was I inhaled sharply and with a sense of intrigue within my mind, and a skipping sensation within my heart, I slowly began to read.

**August 29th**

It's a little after 3am as I sit here and write this, I can just make out the first glimmer of dawn breaking through the skyline outside our bedroom window, the sky a mix of black/blue orange and purples. It's certainly has been a testing last few days. The consequences of which I know have left Misty a lot more quiet and reclusive as a result. I glance at her and watch her asleep by my side. I guess considering the circumstances of it all I can't really blame her. I mean there is a difference between losing a parent and not knowing One I guess that would be a bitter pill to swallow at the best of times.

Her grief aside, I still can't help but feel though, as if something else is bothering her, for I am not stupid, I know her to well, I'll tell you though, Whatever her problem is, I can't help but feel it is affecting her both emotionally and as a person on a whole, for the life of me I have never seen her react to Andrea with nothing other than gentle care and love felt compassion. That was until today the Echoing of her razed tone and almost venomous words is something that will take a while to erase from my memory. For that is just not like her, that is not the girl I fell in love with and still hold dear to this day.

But that alone other evidence has been seeming from her on a day to day basis. For I aren't totally stupid, alright granted I am set in my ways as being someone who at times does not have a clue about certain things that I should, and I also tend to persist at something until I have my way, but I am not blind to the obvious, I know Misty's been keeping things from me, nothing major, little things, In truth it does not bother me, everyone is entitle to their privacy, but when it starts affecting the way she interacts in her day to day life, not to mention with those she cares for and loves, that's when I start having some reservations.

Someone told me once that love can be compared to that of a highly thought out highly educated guessing game, I never understood that fully until now. For despite one partners inability whether be through fear or uncertainty to share the load as it were, it is left up to the second party involved in the relationship to try and digest what problems he or she might be enduring. That's all well and good if your a well established shrink earning thousands each and every year, but a shrink I don't claim to be,  
I don't know maybe I am just over thinking the whole dam situation. I mean I had to expect some sort of backlash from Misty, after enduring all she had this last year and a half. Christ knows I know I ain't the easiest person to live with at times ether. Not that I have a reputation for being difficult, it's just sometimes I forget how early we were made to grow up, and still aspire to pull childish practical jokes whenever Andréa's asleep, and by that time Misty is to exhausted to deal with me as it were.

Then again I don't help matters by the way I tend to shall we say express my views on life. For in Misty's eyes to me, Life was a bed of roses, with a rainbow just over every horizon. But in reality, I know nothing could be further from the truth. I know how much of a bastard the world can be if given half a chance, heck you think I don't wake up nights, and lie awake thinking about just what perception of a twisted bitter place we live in my daughter is going to obtain. It scares me to death, the thought of losing ether one of them scares me to death.

And so any self respecting stranger might approach me and ask why? Why do you continually adopt this persona in front of the girl you love, making out things will always work out for the better when there Is a high chance that things might not work out, that it could all end tomorrow, lives loves, friendships all of it could be taken away within an instant if given the right circumstances. There is only one way to answer that question and it is mealy this. that's all I have. Now some of your are probably sitting there going huh, but let me explain.

My mother had told me once, not to take things totally for granted, it was a sturn part of my upbringing, she alerted to me about just over a year ago, at a time when Misty and I were having some problems just before we knew she was pregnant. Well she told me that, you can say it till your blue in the face, but sometimes the words I love you just isn't enough. so what do I do? I say them everyday, but also do so much more by wearing this mask, painting this picture that things will get better to compensate for other things I can't provide for her, in short, I love her to such an extent, I would lie to keep her no matter how much of a selfish bastard that makes me sound. I keep thinking the life I lead today is some sort of wonderful dream, all be that it might be 5 to 10 years earlier than I had foreseen, but I would not change a thing I love my life, I love Misty, and above all else I love the bundle of joy I hold in my arms every morning, something I can always say is apart of us both.

I don't know why such fears keep overwhelming me, I know she loves me, hell our physical relationship is just...elating, as I am sure Brock can testify to over the last few weeks. I just at times feel so privileged that she gave me that second chance, but that was then and I tend to try and concentrate on the here and now, for to me every second is so cherished

I maybe dense at times, I maybe unable to express how I feel on a face to face basis, by god I even had trouble writing down what I feel deep inside But I guess all in all my overall situation in terms of my personality, my life and the genuine love I hold for the girl laying encased in soft sheets beside me, can be summed up in this short but insightful song I am about to bestow upon these pages.

Lyrics, it was a knack Brock had a great talent for, and something he had given me a talent for by passing on his knowledge, and I must say I had gotten better as the years passed, but the origins of my new acquired hobby aside. The song I alerted you all to earlier was merely this.

**A Boy In Love With You  
**  
I like to get my own way with that certain look.  
For me it's always okay if it's never by the book.  
Maybe I'm just a rebel without a clue.  
But baby, I'm still a boy in love with you.

I try to be so graceful and glide across the floor.  
To the simple tune of faithful, I still don't know the score.  
Maybe I'm just a dancer who's lost his shoes.

But baby, I'm still a boy in love with you.

Now I may stumble, I may come undone. I may get crushed by the weight from above. But if you lose faith in what I've become You can trust in the strength of my love.

I try to write a letter straight from the heart.  
String my words together but I don't know where to start.  
Maybe I'm Just a poet without a rhyme.  
But baby, this boy'll love you 'till the end of time.  
Baby, this boy'll love you 'till the end of time.

Dedicated to Misty, assuring you that brighter days are right around the corner, stay strong honey, the sun will shine again soon, you'll see

Forever yours Ash:

I ceased reading, and for the next several seconds I just lay there clenching the book to my chest absolutely flabbergasted and blown away. His thoughts, his inner most feelings, and most deepest darkest fears mirrored that of my own, and his latest collaboration, within the song stakes, is something I will never forget ever again let me tell you. It was uncanny just how in tune he truly was to all the secrets the provincial opening of Pandora's box held to me.

My emotions had overpowered me yet again as wet droplets let loose from the forefront of my tear ducks as I shakily leaned over and placed the book back on his nightstand. I merely studied him a moment as he slept, words could not describe the new lese of adoration and love I held for him within this moment. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled my body against his as I revelled in the closeness of us both, I knew I could never leave this, even if I tried. I genteelly kissed his neck, to which as a reaction, he stirred slightly turning away from me, muttering a plea to give him another 20 minutes sleep. I smiled as I felt a giant weight lift from my shoulders, as I ran my hands through his hair, as I moved my lips to inches above his left ear, and while taking a few more seconds to gather my words I softly spoke

"Love! Love is a funny thing isn't it Ash Ketchum?" I paused to gage a reaction seeing he was still dead to the world, for lack of a better term, I went on.

"Sometimes...it's mysterious, fiery, passionate. and other times, it's something else, something comfortable, and familiar." I stopped as I placed a quick kiss atop his head.

"But with you" I started as I lay back down engulfing his body in my arms.

"It's all of the above and so much more..." I finished as I quickly reverted my eyes to the clock, 8.15AM the rest of the world could take a back seat for one more hour. I just wanted to bask in my new found reassurances. Had I made the right decision yesterday? Absolutely! To hell with the cruelties of the world and others within it. For I now knew as long as Ash and I had each other, there was nothing we could not overcome, and Andréa only added to our stability in life, love, and the fates that had conspired to get us where we were today. For closure to my problems had been obtained and although I knew more days of frustration over numerous topics lay ahead I had now come to realise that it was something I could handle with a clear conscious, and with all the love in my heart  
**  
To Be Continued**

A/N Well Guys there you have it, the next instalment will not be as long away with some luck, please by all means keep the feedback flowing we love all your views on how things are taking shape!


	10. Defining Ones Happiness

DISCLAIMER: I wonder if I should bother with these anymore…pretty obvious we don't own anything even slightly affiliated with Pokemon. Oh, I will disclaim "Tunnel of Love" by Bruce Springsteen, don't wanna get in trouble for that!

A/N: Do we still have people reading this story? LOL if you've all abandoned it I don't blame you, we are getting sooo slack on this. But applaud Geo, at least he did something about it and wrote this chapter. I suppose I hafta get off my arse and write mine now…! Anyways just read and hopefully enjoy!

**Chapter Nine – Defining Ones Happiness**

"_It ought to be easy ought to be simple enough  
Man meets woman and they fall in love  
But the house is haunted and the ride gets rough  
And you've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above _

_If you want to ride on down in through this tunnel of love."_

Bruce Springsteen "Tunnel Of Love"

Seconds? Minutes? Perhaps even an hour might have slipped away from me as my eyes opened yet again. I could tell that with the frustrating sigh that emerged from the back of my throat that the time span that had just elapsed was irrelevant, for to me it was not long enough as I relinquished in the knowledge that yet again my eyes had once again opened against their will.

I sleepily reached up to rub my eyes as they yet again strained to focus to their new source of light, as Ash wearily stirred to his side of the bed, which as a result left me with very little if any covers encasing my body. Smiling briefly and taking this as a sign, I noted that I probably should get up as I cast my eyes to the clock and saw that indeed a minimum of 15 minutes had past since I saw it last.

As I summoned the resolve to brave the cold chilled air this freezing summer morning had to offer, I briefly closed my eyes and inhaled sharply as a heavenly aroma engulfed my smelling senses. I opened my eyes with a smile as I realized that Brock was no doubt up as per usual at the crack of dawn, and judging by what my nose was telling me, he had breakfast well in hand.

I gingerly got to my feet and donned a near by robe. As I had engulfed it around my body I swatted some stray hair from my eyes and leaned over the bed with the intention of softly waking Ash. However seeing how peaceful he looked I simply traced a hand down his back as a smile emerged on my lips. With a contented sigh shortly there after followed by a small glance across at the small book on the nightstand, the book that had somewhat eased every fear that surged through my brain, I quietly left our bedroom.

A few seconds later after checking in on Andréa and seeing she was still engrossed in a contented sleep, followed by switching on her intercom which was attached to various rooms within our home I found myself trudging my way through the kitchen door to see Brock pouring himself a cup of coffee. He placed the coffee pot down and whirled around as his eyes fell on me.

"Hey! Morning Mist, don't we look a lot brighter this morning" he commented, noting my seemingly new buoyant mood.

"I take it you had a good night's sleep then?" he quizzed as I walked up and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"There's just no easy way to answer that question" I told him as he walked up and placed his cup down on the table adjacent to me.

"Really? How so?" he asked, leaning down a little closer to me so he could hear my answer.

"It's difficult to answer in the sense, that the answer you seek is both yes and no" I echoed with a sly grin as I saw a blank expression emerge across his face. Figuring I'd better put his mind at ease I slowly went on to explain my last statement.

"Yes in the sense that when I did finally get to sleep it was bliss thank you, and no in the fact it was hell trying to fall over, the way Ash gyrates and….." I was cut short as Brock's hand swung in the air and his voice was heard.

"Stop! No use in conjuring up imagery I'll only have to repress later" he blurted out while moving away from the table. I sighed in exasperation whilst slapping my head.

"I was talking about the way he tosses and turns in his sleep you perverted jerk!" He leaned against the refrigerator and folded his arms with a shrug.

"Come on Mist, you seriously expect me to believe you two didn't, umm, how should I put this…hop on the good foot and do the bad thing last night?" I lowered my head to avoid his gaze, somewhat embarrassed at the way he worded his intended question. A moment of silence ensued as I snapped my head back up to respond.

"Whether we did or didn't is none of your Goddamn business! And while we're on the subject, I find it hard to believe you're taking the moral high ground over this. Am I dare sitting here talking to the same guy who sat idly by and watched as I exposed myself to my boyfriend not but a few days ago?" He bit his lip a moment, followed by a nervous laugh as he scratched his head.

"Umm…..coffee?" he asked, trying to revert the topic of conversation whilst gesturing the coffee pot with his hand and moving in its direction. I grinned to myself in satisfaction, thus showing I had obtained victory in our little war of words for lack of a better term, as he had poured some grained liquid into a nearby cup and was now seeking out milk within the confines of the refrigerator as he spoke up yet again.

"Milk and two, right Mist?" he asked with his back to me as he had sought out the sugar bowl.

"Yup, same as always Brock" I chimed as he complied with my request and walked up beside me and handed me the cup.

"Here you go" he said.

"Thanks Brock" I replied gratefully as he took a seat at the opposite side of me at the kitchen table while grabbing his own earlier prepared cup.

"Breakfast should be about ready in 10 minutes or so" he commented after taking a sip from his cup.

"Great" I replied lackadaisically as I clasped my hands around my coffee. A stony silence enveloped us as Brock seemed to study me closely a moment, as if seeking out what I was thinking within my body language or eyes.

"Alright, out with it" he said, folding his arms and sitting back in his chair. I gazed at him questioningly a moment.

"Huh? Out with what?" I asked as he pushed his coffee to one side.

"Ok let's see, you come bouncing in here with a spring in your step, you've got a grin from ear to ear a provincial cheshire cat would be proud of, not to mention your shuffling in that chair more times then a deck of playing cards would in a round of poker. As good as I dare say Ashy boy is, I don't think he can even bring a woman to such realms of ecstasy that you seem to be going through at the moment." I sighed contentedly a moment as a smile formed on my lips.

"Oh Brock, am I that transparent?" I replied as my eyes gazed upwards to focus on him once again. He responded to me with a grin.

"No I'm psychic, so come on what's the deal?"

"Lets just say, I needed a little reminder that sometimes the things people say aren't always necessarily what they are thinking or feeling."

He seemed slightly perplexed at my response, and I feel he wanted to probe more as to what I meant, however the ringing of his cell phone soon quashed that idea as I picked it up from the table and scanned its screen.

"It's your brother" I noted as I gestured the phone in his direction.

"Oh yeah, like that narrows it down!" he mocked playfully while swiping the phone from me and pushing the answer button.

"Brock Slate" he chimed. I sat relaxing back in my chair with my coffee in hand as I listened on intently to Brock's part of a one sided conversation.

"Tommy!...everything ok at home?...yeah for what I gather things went as well as they could considering the circumstances….little family spat but it had to be expected I guess, when you take into account all that's happened…..nope, they're back home, we're in Pallet now…When will I be back home?" Brock paused as he had repeated the question and I shot my head up from my mug in interest.

"Um….Tommy listen……if it's all the same to you, unless I am needed…I think I am going to stick around here a bit longer….make sure things settle down ok and all……great thanks…keep in mind you need anything all you got to do is call….great….you take it easy and send the others my love. Yeah you too….talk to you soon….bye." And with those subtle heartfelt words uttered he hung up the phone and placed it on the table beside him as I darted my eyes across him in a questioning manner.

"I know what you're thinking" he muttered with a sigh as he averted his eyes from me to his mug.

"Do you indeed!" I retorted with a raised eyebrow as he sighed yet again.

"Why am I sticking around here being the provincial third wheel?" I interrupted him thus showing I did not like where he was going with this.

"Brock don't say that! You know Ash and I love having you here, you're welcome as long as you like. I'm just a little surprised that's all" I explained.

"I guess to an extent I am too Misty" he replied. I smiled reassuringly at him.

"Want to talk about it?" He lowered his head a moment.

"I don't know how to describe it Mist. It's as if in Pewter things are just empty. My siblings are older now, and in truth the only time I see them is when they need something, not like that's a bad thing but…" he paused.

"I guess I am just unsatisfied with the way my life is panning out, by day I attend to my duties at the gym and my local breeding classes see me by and even assure me a nice some of money in the bank….but every night when I go home it is the same old thing….just me alone in that big apartment." He paused and eyed me a moment.

"Guess that sounds sort of dumb to you, huh?" I immediately shook my head at him.

"Nope Brock not at all, in fact I think I might have a rough idea what you're going through." I paused and took a sip from my cup.

"You know, when I was about 7 I remember my Grandmother used to have a cat. A mangy old thing. Kept ruining the furniture and stuff. I recall asking her one day why she kept it and she said that maybe it was because she liked having another heartbeat around the house." He smiled at me warmly and reached over and grasped my hand, as if indicating I was spot on in my assumption.

"Thanks Mist" he muttered, freeing my hand from his grasp and leaving his seat to move numerous pots and pans to different rings located on the stove.

"You know Mist, it's funny" he finally commented after taking some time to fiddle around with the spatula.

"What is?" He turned to face me.

"As much as I want to stay here for the moment, I have to admit a small part of me feels as if I should go back home. It's as if it's saying to me I have no ambition, that I should be out there passing on my knowledge and expertise…I mean, God I'm a gym master and one of the most respected breeders within the Kahnto and Johto regions." I arose from my chair and walked around the table as I approached him

"Brock, of course you could be out doing all those things, heck you could be anything you wanted to be…..but maybe those things aren't important to you right now. Maybe you just like being part of a family, somewhere you feel you are needed." I paused and placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "What's wrong with that?" I asked him softly.

"Nothing, I guess" he responded with a grateful looking grin as he leaned forward and placed a brief kiss on my lips before walking past me and picking up his cup located on the table.

"You're one great shrink there yourself, Ms Waterflower" he commented after taking another sip from his cup, bringing to light the numerous times he advised me on my conflicting state of mind, the difference being this time however, that the roles were in reverse. I shot him a smile with a slight nod taking his words for the compliment they were.

"You know Mist, as I examine my own life I can't help but envy you guys in terms of yours" Brock said as I had re-joined him at the table and had once again taken my seat.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked as he had obtained the coffee pot and was giving himself a refill.

"What do you think it means Mist? I mean, my God I have never seen Ash more happier within his life, and the situation with your father not withstanding you're happy right?"

For a moment the question seemed to take some time to lodge into my senses as a throbbing sensation just engulfed the pit of my stomach and my throat became dry. For some reason I couldn't croak out a response. As much as I desperately wanted to, I could not answer yes to that question.

"Misty, did you hear the question?" Brock got hesitantly out after swallowing a mouthful of coffee.

"Um…yeah, I'm thinking." He raised an eyebrow at me as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Why do I get the feeling once you're through thinking I won't like where it's going?" he muttered as I arose from my chair and took a few steps away from him, folding my arms as if trying to suppress any more shooting pains working their way up to my chest.

"Misty! You have got to be kidding me here!" Brock blurted out a little louder then I think he had originally intended after another few seconds of a spine tingling silence.

"Brock, please!" I stammered out with a tremble at his raised tone. "Don't you think I feel bad enough about this as it is?" I echoed turning to face him with the origins of tears beginning to form at the rims of my eyes.

"But how?" he stammered in amazement, taking a short step towards me then stopping.

"I don't know" I echoed shakily as I suppressed a sob down the back of my throat. In reality I was speaking the truth, I didn't know why Brock's question had stumped me. The question was never directed to me in an individual basis. I guess it was always in a third person context, things like us or we when it came to questions such as these, and I just wasn't prepared for it being asked to me in a solo first person scenario.

"Just when I think I have all the answers the questions keep on changing" I muttered weakly as by this time Brock had approached me yet again.

"Misty, help me understand" Brock stammered laying a hand to rest on my shoulder. I paused a moment wondering if I should relate to him, no matter how noble my intentions were my apparent intrusion into Ash's privacy, I knew I had to talk to someone. I knew if I kept it to myself, I would only make myself sick over not only this, but whatever else was stopping me from embracing the life I led to the full.

"Brock, you have to swear this goes no further, can you do that?" I asked eyeing him from the corner of my eye.

"Discretion is my middle name honey" he mussed with a small grin. "So what's the big secret?" I sighed.

"Well you see…" And so for the next minute or so I stood there relating to Brock the situation with Ash's journal, its contents, and how all he had written had gone a long way to putting my mind at ease up until Brock had inadvertently out of the blue asked me his question.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this" he commented after a few more seconds of silence while throwing his hands over his head in what I presumed to be shock. In reality I totally understood why he reacted the way he did.

"Misty? Do you know what I see when I look at you right now?" he asked suddenly as I plucked up the courage to lay eyes on him yet again. I inhaled sharply.

"One selfish discontented bitch?" I chided sarcastically, totally hating myself for the situation I found myself in.

"No. I see a girl who has every reason to be nothing but thankful for the way her life is going, a girl who has a beautiful daughter, involved from what you tell me in a fantastic relationship…my God you've got it all, what possible justification could you possibly have for not being happy?" I cringed at the somewhat repeated question from earlier.

"Dammit Brock! Don't you dare stand there and try to patronize me! I already told you I don't know!" He was silent for a moment as if stunned at my outburst. He bit his lip a few seconds as if searching through his mind what to say next. I could tell by his eyes he knew I was lying. And the next words to leave his mouth did nothing but confirm this.

"Oh! Denial, how nice to see you!" As that sentence left his mouth the red mist had set, and without comprehending what I was doing my next action stunned even me as I had smacked him across the face. I hastily had to fight back the urge to break down into tears as I had practically began clinging to his shirt.

"I'm sorry! Brock forgive me…." I lost it after spluttering out that statement and the dam burst. I could feel Brock's short term resentment towards me dissolve along with the sigh that escaped the back of his throat as he tilted his hand under my chin and focused my head up to face him.

"Sweetheart" he started as a sympathetic smile crossed his lips. "I realize this is unsettling and probably a little scary for you, but if you want to know what's at the core of your problem you have to do the work"

I swallowed hard as I had just fully understood what he was saying. In order to put these so called sleeping dogs to rest I had to discover where the bones where buried, I had to pin point as to why I could not legitimately say why I, Misty Waterflower, was not happy.

"Alright…" I got out while pulling away from him and trying with little success to remove the stray tears cascading down my cheeks.

"It's Ash, isn't it?" Brock quizzed out loud, as if I could get so hysterical over anything else. I remained silent simply lowering my head; I knew he already knew what the answer was.

"I feel so Goddamn ashamed, I shouldn't feel this way Brock!" I got out weakly. He sighed as he momentarily walked away from me to turn the main switch of the stove off.

"You care to explain your reasoning here?" he asked, re-focusing on me while leaning against the stove.

"Brock……it's complicated" I retorted almost with a tinge of frustration while rubbing my hands down my face.

"Simplify it!" he challenged as he approached me yet again.

"Do you ever get the feeling when you wake up in the morning and you feel you're so undeserving of something it's untrue?" He shook his head at me. "That's what I feel with regards to Ash."

"And why do you think that's so?"

"I don't know. Maybe in part it has something to do with that I am more responsible than Ash that we have ended up with the lives we have." Referring to that night at Washbay where he had stopped the rampaging but, so to speak, before I had urged the driver to get back in the hot seat.

"Or maybe because when I think of all he's given up for me, I can't help but brand him crazy." Brock nodded at me a moment as if signifying he was taking in my point objectively before responding.

"What, and you think he, or yourself for that matter, would have it any other way?" A small smile emerged at the corners of my mouth.

"I guess not…."

"You want to know what I think you've discovered this morning, Misty?" I bit my lip a moment before shrugging.

"Sure, go for it" I chimed, not thinking anything of it.

"I think this diary entry, all be it reassuring, may have done you more harm then good, because along with its comforts it has also given you an indication, in your eyes anyways, just how close to perfect for you Ash is, and as you always say, nothing or no one is perfect."

I scowled at him momentarily not fully understanding the logic behind what he was saying.

"Brock! Could you please cut the crap! Just what the heck are you standing there saying? What? I'm afraid of a perfect man?" He shook his head at me as he laid his hands to rest on my shoulders.

"No! You're afraid of losing a perfect man…….again."

In that instant I could honestly say I had adorned a whole new lease of respect for Brock as an ace psychiatrist of the future, as a brother type figure and above all else as a friend. A momentary silence ensued as I turned from him folding my arms.

"So that's it? All this work, just to discover I am terrified of losing him for a second time?"

"That's right" Brock responded as I blinked to myself, somewhat irate as I had just fully realized what this meant.

"So I'm afraid of losing him, because I'm afraid of losing him!" Brock sighed as I had laid eyes upon him once more.

"Mist, I realize how stupid that sounds! But believe me, when it's all said and done, deep down in places you don't want to talk about, there is way more to it and you know it."

I couldn't contain my rage as to why something so simple in my eyes anyways, had stopped me embracing my relationship with Ash to the full.

"Bullshit Brock! I know he'd never leave me!" I snapped.

"Yes!" he retorted back while stopping a moment. "You know that in here!" he told me, gesturing towards his chest he stopped a moment to consider his words.

"But do you know it up here?" he asked, pointing to his head.

"It's all well and good knowing things in your heart Misty, but when your head's been messed with based upon the actions of someone, no matter how much they thought it might have been right for you at the time, it's hard to erase such feelings of hurt, pain, and what can only be looked back upon now as unnecessary misery."

I swallowed hard as memories of the time I thought I had buried replayed themselves before my very eyes.

"I still wake up nights thinking about it Brock……I know my fears are irrational and unfounded, I just can't help but feel no matter how remote the possibility is, that Ash might very well up sticks and leave me again." Brock smiled sympathetically as he once more embraced me in a friendly hug.

"Honey, if that were the case, don't you think he would have been out of the door the moment the words 'I'm pregnant' left your mouth?"

"I guess….." I muttered uncertainly. I could have knocked myself out for that one! I had this debate with myself all the time, why should it be any different in outcome with a second party?

"You see Misty, this is what I am talking about when I say having your head messed with. As much as you are willing to stand there and rubbish it, that time of Ash leaving you has left you scarred up here" he explained, pointing to his head yet again.

I walked up and took a seat at the kitchen table once more as I tried, without much success, to maintain my composure as I found my hands covering my face on numerous of occasions.

"Alright…just so we're clear Brock…" I stopped and swallowed hard. "Are you blaming Ash for my unstable mind set today?" I asked skeptically. He mulled over the question a moment as he had joined me at the table and took a seat to face me.

"Misty, if you're asking me if I would do anything different to what Ash did at the time then absolutely not, he did what he thought was best for you at that time taking you out of that lime light, that pressure cooker" he said, grasping my hands once more.

"What I am saying though is you've taken the built up feelings from that incident and you've carried it with you through everything…every caress, every touch, every kiss, no matter how good he makes you feel or reassures you in your head, you just can't get rid of those feelings of anger, bitterness, and resentment." He leaned back in his chair as if to distance himself from me.

"What can I do about this?" I asked almost helplessly as if I was a four year old child. Brock lowered his head a moment before responding shakily.

"Unfortunately Mist, this is something myself nor even Ash can help you with. This is a mental road work you have to find your own way around, a hurdle you must learn to jump alone." My eyes widened

"And just how do I do that?"

"Honey I'm sorry, but only you can find the answer to that. It's your inner conscience, not mine." I nodded with a weak smile as I thought a moment. Suddenly an uneasy feeling enveloped my body.

"Brock what happens if I can't overcome this problem of which you speak?" He was silent a moment before abruptly eyeing his watch.

"Oh geez is that the time? A whole 20 minutes gone! I better get breakfast finished." He moved to get up but I held him firm by his wrist.

"Brock!" I echoed warningly as he re-took his seat and rubbed his cheek with his knuckle.

"Misty! I love you guys and I love Andréa. I just hope for both your sakes as well as hers you can get this mental block of your sorted." I studied him a moment trying hard not to let my jaw hit the table below.

"Brock, are you saying my problem can do more damage then you care to mention?" He nodded gravely. "How much?" I asked, knowing I would probably dread the answer.

"Over a suitable time period, if you can't get your head around this, then you might find that your frustration towards it might seep into the fabric of the relationship you have with Ash right now." He paused and eyed me momentarily.

"If that should happen then there's a chance that things won't work out. Then not only in the end will you have a little girl a few years down the line asking you why Daddy doesn't live with you, but you'll also have wasted the last six years of your life chasing something you thought was there! Simply put Misty, you'd have been chasing an illusion, only to discover that it wasn't that you couldn't live the fantasy, but your mind would not allow it."

A/N: Wow, I am totally lost on where to go from here but don't panic! I shall discuss with my co-writer soon! And I'm majorly sorry for the delay AGAIN, this is not on at all, I realize that. We really appreciate everyone who is sticking with this fic, it means a lot to us to hear feedback of any sort and to know that people are reading it and still taking an interest in it. Thanks guys and take care til the next chapter!


	11. Lies Through My Love

DISCLAIMER: Come on, you all know it by now, of course we don't own Pokémon. 

A/N: Alright here it is at long last, some input from me. Yes I finally got off my lazy arse (or got on it? I dunno) and wrote this in, ta da, two days! And now that I have the ball rolling I'll also be writing the next chapter after this one! So read and enjoy, review, flame, whatever!

Chapter Ten – Lies Through My Love 

"Num nums, Andie…come on sweetie just try a little bit…look, I'll have some and show you how good it is!" Ash's enthusiastic voice bought a smile to my lips and an uncontrollable laugh escaped as he downed a baby spoonful of strained peas.

Andrea was also highly entertained at his attempts to try feeding her solids. What should have been a milestone on her baby road was actually becoming an almost impossible attempt and judging by the look on Ash's face, I could see why.

"Num nums, Ash?" I teased with a grin.

"I'll num num you" he muttered, looking slightly sick at the taste of the pureed food. "I can't believe we used to eat this stuff."

"Come on, you told Andrea it was good, how can she eat it without her daddy's approval?" Brock asked with a raised eyebrow. I sighed and shook my head in wary disdain as I took Andrea out of the high chair and held her grubby, pea encrusted form in my arms.

"I'm going to wash her up, and then I'm going to give her a _proper_ feed. I told you she was too early for solids" I smirked.

"Since when was bringing up a child a contest?" Ash shrugged. "You do that, me and Brock are gonna watch the game."

"What game?" I asked in surprise. Ash wasn't one for baseball or football or any sport for that matter that didn't concern a bloodthirsty pokemon battle.

"Just…whatever's on" Ash replied vaguely. I rolled my eyes. In Ash's language that meant they were going to sprawl on the couch flicking the channels for half an hour, missing any chance to watch a full program because they couldn't decide.

"Fine, I'll see you guys in the lounge." With that I carried Andrea into the bathroom and laid her on her changing table while getting a warm washcloth ready.

It was funny, I mused as I checked the temperature of the water. In reality Ash was just like any other guy his age. His priorities were just a little different now, that was all. He had a child and a partner to love and protect. No biggie. There was still room for everything else other teenagers did.

God, who was I kidding?

I had to wonder if everything over the last couple of months would have been so dramatic if we hadn't been noticed. If Ash was just some high school drop out who knocked up his girlfriend, if he had done the decent thing and married me to make it legit, if he had no stupid titles or positions and I had no famous family, would everything still be as difficult as it was?

Well, obviously bringing up a child at sixteen is no walk in the park. Living with someone you love more than anything but who surprises you every day with the little things is the same.

It's strange. You think you know someone, you may have talked to them every day for years and believe you know them inside out, then you live with them and…they can turn out to be so different.

In my eyes, Ash had always been a boy who wanted to be a man. He wanted to prove his worth but was blinded by his childhood dreams and ambitions, he wanted to be mature but battling and winning tournaments got in the way.

Reading his journal the other night had given me a whole new perspective about him. I never knew his thoughts could be so provoking, his mind so cramped with things he could only tell a book.

Then again, I wasn't much better. Pouring my confused and wary heart out to Brock when really I should've been more upfront with Ash.

"That's better, isn't it Andie D?" I rhetorically asked my daughter, her clean up now complete. She grinned as she tried to grab a hunk of my hair. "No, that hurts mommy. _Hurts_" I emphasised. She stared dumfounded for a minute but then laughed as if I had said nothing. I guess in her eyes I had only babbled. Little did she know the dreaded H word would come to attack her in so many different shapes and forms in her lifetime.

I'd have given anything to stop her from going through that. But I couldn't. Not with our background.

I walked back into the lounge and gingerly sat beside a bored looking Ash, remote in one hand and a glazed look in his eye. The TV was periodically changing channels and I sighed.

"Just pick something for crying out loud" I muttered as I started to feed Andrea. Ash instantly came to attention and threw the remote back on the table.

"What do you wanna do today?" he asked timidly.

"Do? What do I wanna _do?_" I asked in disbelief. "I have about ten loads of washing that need to go through, a sink full of festering dishes, sheets that have more mothballs than your grandmother's wardrobe and…now wait, there was something else…oh yeah! There's our child to consider on top of all that!"

Both Ash and Brock looked at me with wide eyes of surprise. Well really, what did they expect, an excursion to an amusement park?

"Look, I might…uh, go start on those dishes." Brock somehow managed to stammer through the sentence and shot out of the lounge before anyone could respond. I couldn't meet Ash's eyes and instead concentrated on Andrea's slowly listing form. It was amazing how babies could fall asleep while eating. Then again, it could just be the girls who do that, multi-tasking and all…

"Misty, what's the problem? Brock said you weren't acting yourself this morning."

Ash's voice brought me back to reality and I slowly raised my eyes to meet his concerned ones. Chocolate pools that had conveyed so much to me already were now bathed in pure worry and I shakily smiled some sort of reassurance.

"I'm fine, Ash. Why wouldn't I be?" I looked down at Andrea again. "Everything's fine."

"Don't lie to me Mist, I'm not stupid. Is it your dad? Your mom? Your sisters? God, I don't know, is it _me_?" Ash asked in a flurry.

"It's nothing!" I snapped. I knew my eyes were blazing, I knew I should've just listened to him instead of making a mountain out of a molehill but dammit, I was tired and confused and had so much going on in my head.

"Why do you hide everything from me, Mist? When we first went out we used to talk about _everything_, you couldn't fathom the thought of hiding anything from me! What's changed?" Ash's voice had a hint of desperation to it.

"You want to know what's changed?" I asked in exasperation.

"Yes, and don't point out Andrea, I'm not looking for the obvious here." Ash sighed at the end of the sentence and held my spare hand. "I'm looking for the stuff you hide way down in your soul. The stuff that makes you cry when you think I'm not looking, the things that haunt your dreams when you toss and turn at night. I can only guess, we've been dealt so much crap it's hard to know."

You have no idea Ash, I thought to myself. You don't know that I fleetingly considered leaving you and Andrea to inherite some money. You don't know that I've snooped into your most personal thoughts and feelings.

And most of all, you don't know that I'm involuntarily distancing myself from you because I'm so scared. So, so scared of losing you.

Andrea was purring quietly in my arms, little baby snores full of warmth and innocence. I stroked a long finger down her plump cheek and whispered my response to Ash.

"You don't know a lot, Ash. And you don't need to. I'm going to put Andrea down for her nap, could you give Brock a hand with the dishes?" And with that off hand remark I briskly walked back to Andrea's room, leaving Ash staring after me dumbfoundly.

I heard Ash and Brock mumbling to each other in the kitchen as I laid Andie down and stared at her wistfully. _If only I could pick you up and run away from all this. Run away from my doubts and fears, run to another world where I could wrap you up in cotton candy and protect you from the things I worry about most…_

Such childish thoughts. Why can't I grow up? I walked, trance like, back to my room and stared at the chaos within. Clothes on the floor, drawers caked in dust, bills and coffee cups and bottles strewn in various places. I could've cleaned this up but not today. Not now.

I flopped on the edge of the bed and stared at the ground. My thoughts became too confused to make any sense.

Why does Ash hide such deep feelings from me? Why do I feel so lost and lonely when I have the most wonderful family under the same roof as me?

In short, what the hell was wrong with me?

I felt the familiar clenching of my throat consuming me, willing my eyes to squeeze out even more salty tears. It was a command I quickly succumbed to as I watched the droplets fall to the cream carpet below me.

"Oh Mist." I heard Ash sigh as he sat beside me and wrapped those familiar arms around my shaking form. "Come on babe, it's okay, we'll make it work. I didn't mean to get edgy before." He raised my face to meet his and smiled assuredly. "I just want to help you. You know that. I love you more than anything. I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy Misty, I swore that to myself when you let me back into your life."

"But you don't understand" I sobbed. "I just feel so confused, so weird! I'm not myself at the moment and I don't know why!"

"Honey, you've lost your father, practically divorced your mother and you're raising a newborn child. The reason you're not yourself is because you're trying to be a hero" Ash said gently. "You can't carry all this on your shoulders. You know you can't. And I know something happened in Cerulean that you're not telling me about. You've been avoiding it ever since we got back." He raised an eyebrow at me and I turned away.

He would never forgive me if I told him the proposition my mother had imposed on me, or that I had opened his journal and delved into thoughts he obviously didn't want me to know.

Then again, if I kept all this inside me much longer I might head for a nervous breakdown. Andrea didn't deserve a mother like me at the moment, and Ash didn't deserve to have to put up with me the way I was.

"Ash, I don't know if I should tell you, but…" I cut myself off as a cramp went through my stomach. They had been frequenting more often than not but this one was a doozy. I winced at the pain and tried to get back to what I was saying. "Ash, I – oh God" I cringed.

"Misty? Misty what's wrong?" Ash was panicking and grasping my hand. His words were becoming more distant as the pain became more excruciating.

"Just a stomach…bug" I gasped through the searing aches in my stomach. I was about to ask Ash to grab some painkillers but the words were stuck in the back of my throat, suffocated by this increasing pain.

I remember wondering if our room had always been on a tilt before being plunged into a world of darkness.

God it was bright. I'd have given anything to dim the lights, shut a curtain, something to get me away from this sterile brightness.

I didn't need to be told I was in a hospital. The nurse standing over me and the drip beside my bed that was feeding into my arm confirmed that straight away.

But of course, what got me more was Ash's face. He was staring into a corner, looking through me. I wonder if he even knew I was there until I touched his face, removing my hand from the powerful grasp he had on it.

"Misty, you're awake" he smiled instantly. "Don't try and talk" he hushed me before I even started. "You've gotta rest. You've got to…" He trailed off and started staring again.

By now things were being recalled by my hazy brain. The crying, the debating whether to tell Ash certain things, the cramps…

Of course. That was what put me in here in the first place. I remember it being painful but surely it wasn't that bad?

"Ash? What's going on?" I asked shakily.

He very slowly reverted his eyes back towards me and sighed deeply. "I don't know…maybe we should wait for the doctor to come back."

"Don't you dare, Ash. If there's something I've got to be told I want to hear it from you, not some whitecoat entrenched stranger" I said firmly. Ash gave me a small smile but it quickly absolved when he sighed again.

"Where's Andrea?" I suddenly asked before he could begin speaking. "Where is she? We didn't leave her in the apartment did we?" The panic in my voice was rising and Ash squeezed my hand reassuredly.

"Do you think I'd do that? No, she's in the waiting room with Mom and Brock."

"But she needs another nap before dinner…she probably needs another feed too, I better go and…"

"Misty don't be so bloody stupid, stay there and don't move a muscle" Ash snapped. I stared at him in disbelief. Trust him to get angry at a hospital. He scrunched his eyes shut for a minute and then started stroking my hair. "Sorry, I'm sorry hun, this is just so hard."

"Why would a few stomach cramps be so hard? Give me some morphine and I'll be on my way" I teased. His face didn't even attempt a smile and I became downcast.

Suddenly, it hit me.

"Oh my God" I whispered. He looked at me, nothing but sombre in his expression. "Not again Ash…I can't be again…we were so careful and did everything right! I can't be, I just can't be! How is it possible that I'm pregnant!" I exclaimed.

"Misty, please…"

"Don't please me, you sod! Why do you have to be so damn fertile? And so damn _demanding_, I mean if you were like any other exhausted parent you wouldn't be asking for it every night, but nooo, not Ash Ketchum, he's rearing to go impregnate his already overworked girlfriend any night of the…"

"MISTY! For Chrissakes, you're not pregnant!" Ash suddenly yelled, interrupting my tirade of words. "I'd be delighted if you were given the circumstances now!"

"Well I'm glad one of us would be" I muttered. I paused to consider his words and looked him square in the eye as I spoke. "What circumstances are we talking, Ash?"

And to my complete horror, Ash started to cry. Really started sobbing, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably but the grasp on my hand still strong. Seeing him like this only made what was before a minimal worry grow into an ugly, consuming panic within me.

"Ash." I tried to keep my voice calm, disguising the fear I was really feeling. "Ash please, just tell me."

"They…the doctors, they found something. Something bad" Ash managed to choke out. I nodded, gently encouraging him to go on. "It's the reasons for your cramps and they say it's a good thing we found it this early. You're probably gonna be okay."

"Probably! What the hell makes them think probably? Ash, for God's sake, tell me before I grab Andrea and run out of here without you!" I threatened. I watched as he took a deep sigh and muttered something under his breath. Something along the lines of, "I don't want to hurt you."

Hurt me? What could possibly…

"Misty, they've found a tumour in your ovaries. They don't know if it's benign or malignant, they want to keep you in here for some more tests. They did a CT scan while you were unconscious, and some blood tests…" Ash's tear ravaged face rose from its bowed state to meet my rapidly paling one. "They're not going to have the results until tomorrow."

My first thought at this news was how ironic life is. The last time I was in hospital (if you don't count while I was giving birth…), the day I found out I was pregnant, I had asked the doctor if I had cancer. I had panicked and freaked out thinking that I couldn't possibly live with that. Then I got told I was pregnant, and suddenly I had found myself wishing for cancer, anything, instead of a child I didn't think I could bring up. A child I now couldn't live without.

God, life dealt some tough breaks.

Ash started crying again and I tried to pull myself together, away from ironic memories. I knew better than anyone that if Ash was crying it wasn't good in any respect. I hadn't seen him cry since…I couldn't even remember when.

And then it happened. My life literally flashed before my eyes.

Well, okay, I didn't see the light or have a stirring musical rendition of my life's highlights. But being told you could possibly have a fatal tumour, being told that the doctors are as clueless as you, plays with your mind a bit.

I saw so much I hadn't thought about in so long. I saw my sisters performing for the first time, gazing up at their confident, radiant smiles and wishing I could be like them when I was older. A wish that would later backfire on me but it was there at the time all the same.

I saw Ash for the first time. Hauling him out of that river, grubby and bewildered on his first day of pokemon training. Looking at him and feeling my heart momentarily leap into my chest before yelling some Misty trademark comment at him.

Ash asking me out properly. Ash telling me he loved me. Ash announcing that he was leaving me for Giselle. Ash begging my forgiveness at Washbay, our first kiss, our first night together, finding out I was pregnant, my sisters' betrayal, holding Andrea for the first time, hearing that Dad had died...

So many memories crammed into that one moment and I lapsed into silence thinking of it all. What had I taken for granted? Should I try and convince my sisters to forgive me? Was it _really_ my fault Dad had died?

I sat up properly and held his hand tight in mine until he finally looked at me. For the first time in months he looked lost, almost like how I had been feeling for the past couple of days with the mounting secrets I had been hiding from him. I wanted nothing more now than to tell him everything, to let him know that yes, I had considered running back to Mom in a moment of insanity.

It all seemed so insignificant compared to what we now could possibly be facing.

"I can't lose you, Mist. I just can't. I'd lose a part of myself, I'd be an absolutely hopeless father to Andie. It's not fair, what have you of all people done to deserve this? Why you? Why not me?" Ash said shakily.

I bit my lip, trying to build up some confidence within myself.

"It's okay. We'll get through this, Ash. I'm not letting something like this bring us down, especially now that we have Andrea. Not after everything we've been through. Everything's going to be okay."

You're lying to him again, Misty. First mom's idea, then the journal, and now this. Lying to your soulmate, saying everything's going to be fine…

When really all you can think about is if you're going to live to see your daughter's first day of school.

A/N: Yay! All done! Now I'm away for the next week so I won't start writing the next one until I get back, but I promise now that I'm into it there won't be as huge delays as there have been. I can't believe how slack I got. Okay I'll stop ranting, please leave any thoughts you have, both myself and Geo appreciate them all. Thanks and have a good one! 


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